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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ISO 14000 What is ISO? The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from over 100 countries, one from each country. ISO is a non-governmental organization established in 1947. The mission of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with a view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. ISO's work results in international agreements, which are published as International Standards. In addition to quality and environmental management systems, ISO also publishes standards that set criteria for film speed, data stored on ATM and credit cards, wine glasses for use in competitions, crayons, and more. How it all started International standardization began in the electrotechnical field : the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) was created in 1906. Pioneering work in other fields was carried out by the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA), which was set up in 1926. The emphasis within ISA was laid heavily on mechanical engineering. ISA's activities ceased in 1942, owing to the Second World War. Following a meeting in London in 1946, delegates from 25 countries decided to create a new international organization "the object of which would be to facilitate the international coordination and unification of industrial standards". The new organization, ISO, began to function officially on 23 February 1947. The first ISO standard was published in 1951 with the title, " Standard reference temperature for industrial length measurement ". ISO's name : a user's guide Many people will have noticed a seeming lack of correspondence between the official title when used in full, International Organization for Standardization, and the short form, ISO. Shouldn't the acronym be " IOS " ? Yes, if it were an acronym - which it is not. In fact, "ISO" is a word, derived from the Greek isos, meaning "equal ", which is the root of the prefix " iso-" that occurs in a host of terms, such as " isometric " (of equal measure or dimensions - Shorter Oxford English Dictionary) and " isonomy " (equality of laws, or of people before the law - ibid.). From "equal" to "standard", the line of thinking that led to the choice of "ISO" as the name of the organization is easy to follow. In addition, the name has the advantage of being valid in each of the organization's three official languages - English, French and Russian. The confusion that would arise through the use of an acronym is thus avoided, e.g. "IOS" would not correspond to the official title of the organization in French - Organisation internationale de normalisation. What is an Environmental Management System (EMS)? An Environmental Management System is part of an organization's management
structure that addresses the impact of an organization's products, services and
processes on the environment. The EMS provides order and consistency by
allocating resources, assigning responsibilities and continually evaluating
practices, procedures and processes. There are external influences that drive organizations to at least consider, if not implement, an EMS:
As forces for change, they provide some stimulation, but they do not necessarily cause a real motivation or desire to change. Hence, having a real commitment to an EMS can be an issue. How to obtain this commitment is a bigger issue for those who start to develop and implement an EMS to ISO 14001, without the knowledge at the start of the process What does the ISO 14000 series address?
Organization/Process-Oriented Standards
Product-Oriented Standards
What events led to the development of ISO 14000? The ISO 14000 series emerged primarily as a result of the Uruguay round of the GATT negotiations and the Rio Summit on the Environment held in 1992. While GATT concentrates on the need to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade, the Rio Summit generated a commitment to protection of the environment across the world. The environmental field has seen a steady growth of national and regional standards. The British Standards Institution has BS 7750, the Canadian Standards Association has environmental management, auditing, eco-labeling and other standards, the European Union has all of these plus the eco-management and audit regulations, and many other countries (e.g. USA, Germany and Japan) have introduced eco-labeling programs. After the rapid acceptance of ISO 9000, and the increase of environmental standards around the world, ISO assessed the need for international environmental management standards. They formed the Strategic Advisory Group on the Environment (SAGE) in 1991, to consider whether such standards could serve to:
In 1992, SAGE's recommendations created a new committee, TC 207, for international environmental management standards. The committee, and its sub-committees include representatives from industry, standards organizations, government and environmental organizations from many countries. The new series of ISO14000 standards are designed to cover:
What types of organizations do the standards apply to? The standards apply to all types and sizes of organizations and are designed to encompass diverse geographical, cultural and social conditions. For ISO14001, except for committing to continual improvement and compliance with applicable legislation and regulations, the standard does not establish absolute requirements for environmental performance. Many organizations, engaged in similar activities, may have widely different environmental management systems and performance, and may all comply with ISO14001. What is the ISO 14000 series of standards? The ISO 14000 series addresses environmental management systems, environmental auditing, environmental labeling, environmental performance evaluation, and life cycle assessment. These International standards are voluntary standards for the establishment of a common worldwide approach to management systems that will lead to the protection of the earth's environment while spurring international trade and commerce. They will serve as tools to manage corporate environmental programs and provide an internationally recognized framework to measure, evaluate, and audit these programs. When implemented, these standards will ensure consistency in environmental management practice, harmonize national environmental standards within an international framework, simplify registrations, labeling and conflicting requirements, provide a single system for all transnational subsidiaries, and offer guidelines for environmental management excellence. Even though the standards do not prescribe performance levels, performance improvements will invariably be achieved by any business if its commitment to environmental care is emphasized and employees are trained and aware of the policies in place to protect the environment. The ISO 14000 voluntary environmental management standards and guidelines are intended to be practical, useful and usable for companies or organizations of all sizes, in both manufacturing and service industries. What are the possible benefits of ISO 14000? It is expected that ISO 14000 will:
Does a company or organization have to implement all standards in the ISO 14000 series? ISO 14000 is a series of voluntary standards. Companies and organizations are not required to comply with or implement any of these standards. However, they become necessary to do business if they become the basis for regulations in countries or regions, or if they become de-facto requirements in customer-supplier relationships. ISO 14001 is considered the foundation document of the entire series, and most other documents in the series are proposed as guidelines that will support a company or organization's environmental management system. With the exception of one of the Eco-labeling documents under development, ISO 14001 is currently expected to be the only document developed by ISO/TC 207 to which companies or organizations may become registered or certified. What is the difference between conformity assessment, accreditation, certification And registration in relation to ISO 14000? Official definitions, according to ISO/IEC Guide 2 (General Terms and Their Definitions Concerning Standardization and Certification) are as follows: Conformity Assessment - This term refers to the determination of whether a product, process or service conforms to particular standards or specifications. Activities associated with conformity assessment may include testing, certification, accreditation, quality assurance system registration and environmental management system registration. Accreditation - This term refers to a procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition that a body or person is competent to carry out specific tasks. Accreditation means that a body has been evaluated in accordance with internationally recognized standards (ISO/IEC Guide 62) and has been found competent and therefore is authorizated to register companies which have successfully demonstrated compliance to ISO 14001. Certification - This term refers to a procedure by which a third party gives written assurance that a product, process or service conforms to specified requirements. Registration - This term refers to a procedure by which a body indicates relevant characteristics of a product, product or services and then includes or registers the product, process oo services in a publicly available list. Accredited organizations known as "registrars" will be engaged by a company as third-parties to provide the certification that the company has implemented ISO 14001. "Registration" is generally used in the United States for the procedure defined as "certification" above, while "certification" is the preferred term in Europe and other parts of the world. How do I purchase, order, or find the price of published standards, draft international standards or committee drafts in the ISO 14000 series? ANSI, ASQ, ASTM and NSF International will all make available to the general public final published versions of the national adoptions of the ISO 14000 standards, as well as draft versions of the ISO 14000 documents at either the committee draft stage or draft international standard stage. For ordering and pricing information, please contact ANSI's Customer Service Department 212 - 642 - 4900, ASQ 800 - 248 - 1946, ASTM 610 - 832 - 9585, or NSF International 800 - NSF - MARK. What is the ISO 14001 EMS specification document and what does it include? The ISO 14001 standard specifies the requirements for an Environmental Management System. Like the ISO 9001standard for Quality Management and Assurance, ISO 14001 is a prescriptive document designed to provide organizations with the elements of an effective EMS, enabling them to achieve environmental goals consistently and reliably. ISO 14001 has been written to apply to organizations of all types and sizes. An organization developing an ISO 14001 EMS is first required to state its overall intentions and commitment to environmental performance in a defined environmental policy. The environmental policy is the foundation for establishing environmental objectives and targets. The next step is for the organization to define the "environmental aspects" or impacts that are associated with its activities, products, and services, and then to determine which of these impacts are significant. The final step is to then develop and implement a documented management system for meeting stated goals and objectives that includes all the elements required by ISO 14001. These elements include, among others, the environmental policy and targets, planning and resources, responsibilities and authorities, corrective actions and maintenance, employee education and training, management reviews and continual improvement, and system audits. ISO 14001 is designed to allow organizations to develop an EMS that can be objectively audited for certification or self-declaration purposes (see below). Demonstration of the successful implementation of ISO 14001 can be used by an organization to assure interested parties that an effective EMS is in place. What is the ISO 14004 EMS guidance document and what does it include? ISO 14004 is a guidance standard designed to offer practical help and guidance for organizations wishing to initiate or improve an EMS. Unlike the ISO 14001 specification standard, ISO 14004 does not contain any elements that can be objectively audited for certification purposes. ISO 14004 lists all of the elements that should be considered when implementing or enhancing an EMS. The elements of ISO 14004 are centered around the following five principles:
========================= Who are ISO registrars ? Registrars are organizations who assess conformance of environmental management systems to ISO 14001 requirements and maintain a register of companies that operate and maintain conforming ISO 14001 environmental management systems. Typically, ISO 14001 registrars are companies of international certification bureaus, inspection services and laboratories. There are currently over 100 ISO 14001 registrars operating in the United States. How are ISO 14001 registrars accredited ? In order to be recognized, ISO 14001 registrars must be accredited. About 80 countries in the world operate their national accreditation schemes. In the United States the national accreditor is the Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB). ISO 14001 accreditation schemes of most European countries, USA, and other highly industrialized countries are recognized internationally. Many registrars have multiple accreditations form different countries. What are the criteria for selecting ISO 14001 registrar ? The basic requirement is that the registrar be accredited to issue ISO 14001 registration certificates in a given industry. Otherwise, the most important criteria for selecting an ISO 14001 registrar is the market recognition and reputation of the registrar. An ISO 14001 registration certificate carries the registrar's logo and the prestige associated with this logo. Different industries, countries and regions favor different registrars. Find out which ISO 14001 registrars are most active in your industry and which are favored by your customers. What are the main phases of the ISO 14001 registration audit? The first step in the ISO 14001 registration process is review of documentation. The review is either carried out at the registrar's offices prior to scheduling of the actual ISO 14001 audit, or on site as part of the audit. ISO 14001 documentation review usually results in some comments and observations, which must be resolved before the on-site audit. The next step is the ISO 14001 audit itself. The objective of the audit is to verify whether the environmental management system conforms with requirements of the ISO 14001 standard. The result of the audit is communicated by auditors at the closing meeting. If the company is recommended for certification, it will receive the ISO 14001 certificate within a couple of weeks. If there are major nonconformance, the certification is delayed. The company must implement corrective actions to deal with the nonconformance and the registrar would usually want to come back for a follow up audit. Who should represent the company during the ISO 14001 audit? ISO 14001 registration audit starts with a brief opening meeting conducted by the Lead Auditor. The audited company is represented by executive managers and those responsible for implementing and operating the ISO 14001 environmental management system. At the meeting auditors explain the ISO 14001 audit process, confirm the audit schedule, and deal with other administrative matters. For the actual audit the auditors split up, each going to a different department or area. Each auditor is assisted at all times by an escort. The escorting personnel are usually those responsible for establishing, implementing and operating the ISO 14001 system. Typically it is the Environmental Manager and his or her senior staff. In smaller companies, other management personnel may be assigned to escort the auditors. The audit is concluded with the closing meeting where auditors communicate and explain results of the audit. The closing meeting is usually attended by the executive management, and staff responsible for operating the environmental management system, and by departmental managers. What are the criteria for passing the ISO 14001 audit? To pass the ISO 14001 registration audit there may be no major nonconformance and only a limited number of minor nonconformance scattered around different elements of the ISO 14001 system. When a couple of minor nonconformance pertain to the same ISO 14001 quality system element, they can be upgraded to a major. The basic requirements are: all of the documented procedures must be in place and in use. The entire EMS should have had an internal audit. A management review must have taken place. At least on corrective action has to have been closed out. The majority of training needs identified by the organization should be taken care of. Most registrars will require the EMS up and running for at least 90 days. It is not enough to have the pieces. The system must be functioning to pass the registration audit. Before your registration audit, your registrar should provide you clear information on what they will expect, and should be able to give you guidance on how they distinguish between major and minor nonconformance. What are typical major nonconformances at the time of the registration audit? Not having completed an internal audit of the entire EMS, no management review, no corrective actions closed out, no legal/regulatory compliance assessment, the "inventory" of aspects is not adequate, the process of determining which aspects are significant is poorly defined. What is the definition of ISO 14001 nonconformance? ISO 14000 registrars may have slightly different definitions of a major and minor nonconformance. Typically, a nonconformance is classified as major when there is a complete breakdown of an ISO 14001 system element, or when the nonconformance to ISO 14001 requirements poses a serious risk to the environment. A minor nonconformance is an isolated lapse in implementing or following any requirement of the ISO 14001 system. A major nonconformance means the system has a serious implementation flaw, a major requirement is not being met or it is clear to the auditor that the system is not functioning. What do we do if we get a major nonconformance? For any ISO 14001 nonconformance identified by the audit the company receives a corrective action request (CAR), which must be closed out within two to three months. Closeout of a minor CAR is usually verified at the next regularly scheduled ISO 14001 surveillance visit. Major CARs must be closed out before the company can be registered. Closeout of major Cars requires a special follow up audit. Typically, companies take about two months to close out a major CAR and get back on track with the certification process. Is it necessary to hire a consultant to implement ISO 14000? No. With enough time, resources, and top management commitment, you can do it yourself. But the right consultant will shorten your learning curve and help you create a environmental management system that is right for your company. The wrong consultant will create a system your employees hate and won't use, that does not save you money, and leaves you no better off than when you started, only poorer.
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