What is ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System?

ISO14001 Environmental Management System certification refers to conformity assessment activities carried out by a third-party certification agency in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard. ISO 14001 is a standard issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is one standard in the ISO 14000 series of standards. The standard was first published in 1996 and revised in 2004 by the ISO. The latest version is ISO 14001-2015.

Benefits of Implementation:

· Save energy, reduce consumption, turn waste into treasure, reduce environmental expenditure, and reduce costs. By establishing and implementing an environmental management system, fewer pollutants can be generated and discharged; waste recycling can be promoted; energy and raw materials can be saved; fines and sewage charges can be avoided; and therefore costs can be reduced.

· Promote enterprises to consciously abide by environmental laws and regulations

· Promote enterprises to consider the impact of their production, operation, services, and other activities on environment and reduce environmental loads

· Enable enterprises to obtain a "green pass" to enter the international market

· Enhance the environmental awareness of enterprises' employees

· Promote enterprises to strengthen environmental management

Differences and Similarities between ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 9000

Firstly, both sets of standards are management-specific standards developed by the ISO
Secondly, the biggest difference between the two sets of standards is that they are oriented to different objects. ISO 9000 is a commitment to customers and interested parties. The ISO 14001 standard is a commitment to the government, society, and many interested parties (including shareholders, lenders, and insurance). The ISO 9000 standard lacks an effective external supervision mechanism. While implementing the ISO14000 standard, it is necessary for an enterprise to accept the supervision by the government, law enforcement authorities, the public, and all interested parties.

Finally, in the system, the two sets of standards essentially differ on part of the content and system ideas, including environmental identification, important environmental assessment and control, identification or acquisition of, and assessment of compliance with, applicable environmental laws and regulations, tracking of latest regulations, and completion of the formulation of environmental target indicator plans, in order to prevent pollution, save energy and reduce consumption, improve the utilization of resources and energy, and finally achieve the goal of continuous improvement in environmental behaviors.

Applicable Scope

The ISO 14001 Environmental Management System shall apply to any organization that wishes to improve its environmental management, regardless of its size or sector. However, to achieve the best return on investment, a company should be prepared to implement the system throughout the organization, rather than just within a specific location, department, or segment.

In addition, the ISO 9001 Quality Management System, the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, and other management systems are compatible with each other. They can be seamlessly integrated through "integrated management." They share many common principles, so choosing an integrated management system can bring about great economic benefits.