Episode 3: ISO 14001 Explained

ISO 14001 Explained Presented by: John Fraser - Technical Manager, Environment

ISO 14001

I like to describe ISO 14001 in several ways. By doing this, I am more likely to hit on an explanation that resonates with you, plus I believe your understanding of ISO 14001 will be stronger if you can view it from multiple perspectives. I have four views to offer. More on the ISO 14001 standard & certification

PCDA PDCA stands for Plan, Do, Check and Act. It’s been used in ISO 9001 for years and goes back to the work of Deming in the 1950s. It’s a continual improvement cycle

It can also be viewed as a series of mini-EMSs, each focused precisely on an area of your operations that does or could damage the environment. For example, referring back to the clauses I just mentioned:

Environmental Aspect Environmental Impact Laws Responsibilities Training/Competency Controls Monitoring

Plant effluent discharge Degradation of water quality Sewer-use bylaw, POTW permit WWT operator OJT, evaluations, refresher Flow rate, polymer addition, Wis Sampling and lab analysis

It’s also a system to control and monitor your high risk environmental practices, supported by administrative functions.

Resources, roles, responsibility and

authority Communication Documentation

Control of Documents

NC, CA and PA Control of

Records Internal Audit Management

Review

Policy

Environmental Aspects

Significant Environmental

Aspects

Legal and Other Requirements

Objectives, Targets and Programs

Controls

Competence Training

Awareness

Response to Emergencies

Monitoring

Focus of Policy Practices

And finally, in the most simple of terms, it’s a system to fulfill the pledges in the policy Prevention of Pollution Continual Improvement Compliance

Key Points to Remember

• Design 14001 to meet your needs

• Integrate it with your business

• Recognize your strengths

• Tool for continual improvement

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