ISO 14001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system (EMS). It provides a framework that an organization can follow, rather than establishing environmental performance requirements.
ISO 14001:2015 should be used by any organization that wishes to set up, improve, or maintain an environmental management system to conform to its established environmental policy and requirements. The requirements of the standard can be incorporated into any environmental management system, the extent to which is determined by several factors including the organization’s industry, environmental policy, products and service offerings, and location.
Using ISO 14001:2015 has many benefits for organizations with environmental management systems. Organizations and companies find that using the standard helps them: * Improve resource efficiency * Reduce waste * Drive down costs * Provide assurance that environmental impact is being measured * Gain competitive advantage in supply chain design * Increase new business opportunities * Meet legal obligations * Increase stakeholder and customer trust * Improve overall environmental impact * Manage environmental obligations with consistency
At the highest level, ISO 14001:2015 covers the following topics with regard to environmental management systems: