ISO 14001 2004

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT STANDARD

TRANSLATED INTO PLAIN ENGLISH

ISO 14001 2004 is an environmental management standard. It specifies

a set of environmental management requirements for environmental
management systems. The purpose of this standard is to help all
types of organizations to protect the environment, to prevent
pollution, and to improve their environmental performance.

This page presents a detailed preview of the ISO 14001 2004 standard.
However, it does not present the entire standard..

ISO 14001 presents environmental management requirements in

section 4. Therefore, the following material begins with section 4.

ISO 14001
ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT
REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Systemic Establish an environmental

requirements management system
that complies with the ISO 14001
2004 standard.
Document your
environmental management
system
in accordance with the ISO
14001 2004 standard.

Implement your
environmental management
system
in accordance with the ISO
14001 2004 standard.

Maintain your
environmental management
 system
in accordance with the ISO
14001 2004 standard.

Continually improve your

environmental management
system in accordance with
the ISO 14001 2004
standard.

4.2 Policy Establish your organizations

requirements environmental policy.

Define your organizations

environmental policy.

Document your organizations

environmental policy.

Implement your organizations

environmental policy.

Maintain your organizations

environmental policy.

Communicate your organizations

environmental policy.

4.3 Planning 4.3.1 Identify your environmental

requirements aspects.
Establish procedures to
identify the environmental
aspects of your activities,
products, and services.

Implement procedures to
identify the environmental
aspects of your activities,
products, and services.

Document the
environmental aspects of
your
organizations activities,
 products, and services.

Maintain procedures to
identify the environmental
aspects of your activities,
products, and services.

4.3.2 Clarify legal and other

requirements.

Establish procedures to identify

and clarify
the legal and other requirements
that apply
to your organizations
environmental aspects.

Implement
procedures
to identify
and clarify
the legal and
other
requirements
that apply to
your
organization
s
environment
al aspects.

Maintain
procedures
to identify
and clarify
the legal
and other
requirements
that apply to
your
organization
s
environment
al aspects.

4.3.3 Establish objectives and

programs.

Establish environmental objectives

 and targets.

Implement environmental
objectives and targets.

Maintain environmental
objectives and targets.

Establish programs to achieve your

organization's
environmental objectives and
targets.

Implement programs to
achieve your
environmental objectives
and targets.

Maintain programs to
achieve your
environmental objectives
and targets.

4.4 Operational 4.4.1 Provide resources and

requirements establish jobs.

Provide the resources needed to

support your
organizations environmental
management system.

Provide the resources

needed to establish
your environmental
management system.

Provide the resources

needed to implement
your environmental
management system.

Provide the resources

needed to maintain
your environmental
management system.

Provide the resources

needed to improve
 your environmental
management system.

Establish environmental
management
roles, responsibilities, and
authorities.

Define your environmental

management
roles, responsibilities, and
authorities.

Document your
environmental management
roles, responsibilities, and
authorities.

Communicate your
environmental management
roles, responsibilities, and
authorities.

Appoint someone to assume the

role
of management representative.

4.4.2 Deliver training and awareness

programs.

Make sure that people, who perform

tasks that could potentially
have a significant environmental
impact, are in fact competent.

Establish your environmental

training programs.

Identify your organizations

environmental training
needs.

Deliver training programs

that meet
your environmental training
needs.

Maintain a record of your

organizations
environmental training
 activities.

Establish a procedure to make

people aware
of your environmental management
system.

Implement your
environmental awareness
procedure.

Maintain your
environmental awareness
procedure.

4.4.3 Establish communication

procedures.

Establish a procedure to control

your organizations
internal environmental
communications.

Implement your
organizations internal
environmental
communications procedure.

Maintain your organizations

internal
environmental
communications procedure.

Establish a procedure to control

your organizations
external environmental
communications.

Implement your
organizations external
environmental
communications procedure.

Maintain your organizations

external
environmental
communications procedure.

4.4.4 Document your environmental

 management system.

Document your organizations

environmental policy.

Document your organizations

environmental objectives.

Document your organizations

environmental targets.

Document the scope of

environmental management
system.

Document the main parts of

environmental management
system.

Describe how the parts of

your organization's
environmental management
system interact.

4.4.5 Control environmental

management documents.

Control documents required

by the ISO 14001 2004 standard.

Control documents required by

your
environmental management
system.

Control your environmental

management system records.

4.4.6 Control environmentally

significant operations.

Identify those operations that are

associated with your
organizations significant
environmental aspects.

Establish procedures to manage

and control operational
situations that could have
 significant environmental impacts.

Document your
environmental
operational control
procedures.

Implement your
environmental
operational control
procedures.

Maintain your
environmental
operational control
procedures.

Establish procedures to control the

significant
environmental aspects of the goods
and services
provided by your suppliers and
contractors.

Implement your
environmental supplier
and contractor control
procedures.

Maintain your
environmental supplier
and contractor control
procedures.

4.4.7 Establish an emergency

management process.

Prepare for emergency situations

and accidents that
could have a significant impact on
the environment.

Establish procedures to identify

potential emergency situations
and accidents that could have an
impact on the environment.

Implement procedures to
identify potential emergency
 situations and accidents
that could have an impact.

Maintain procedures to
identify potential emergency

situations and accidents

that could have an impact
on the environment.

Establish procedures to respond to

actual emergency situations
and accidents that have an impact
on the environment.

Implement procedures to
respond to actual
emergency situations and
accidents that have an
impact.

Maintain procedures to
respond to actual
emergency
situations and accidents
that have an impact on the
environment.

Test your environmental emergency

response procedures.

Respond to actual environmental

emergencies and accidents.

Prevent or mitigate the adverse

environmental impacts
that emergencies and accidents
can and do cause.

Review and revise your

environmental emergency
preparedness and response
procedures.

4.5 Checking 4.5.1 Establish monitoring and

requirements measurement capabilities.
 Establish procedures to monitor
and measure
the operational characteristics that
could have
a significant impact on the
environment.

Implement your
organization's
environmental
monitoring and measuring
procedures.

Maintain your organization's

environmental
monitoring and measuring
procedures.

Use calibrated or verified

environmental
monitoring and measuring
equipment.

Maintain your organizations

environmental
monitoring and measuring
equipment.

Keep a record of your

environmental
monitoring and measuring
activities.

4.5.2 Evaluate legal and other

compliance.

4.5.2.1 Evaluate compliance with legal

requirements.

Establish a procedure to
periodically evaluate
how well your organization
complies with all
relevant legal environmental
requirements.

Implement a procedure to
periodically evaluate
how well your organization
 complies with all relevant
legal environmental
requirements.

Maintain a procedure to
periodically evaluate
how well your organization
complies with all
relevant legal environmental
requirements.

Record the results of your

organization's
legal environmental compliance
evaluations.

4.5.2.2 Evaluate compliance with other

requirements.

Establish a procedure to
periodically evaluate how well your
organization complies with other
environmental requirements.

Implement a procedure to
periodically evaluate
how well your organization
complies with other
environmental
requirements.

Maintain a procedure to
periodically evaluate
how well your organization
complies with other
environmental
requirements.

Record the results of your

organization's other
environmental compliance
evaluations.

4.5.3 Deal with your

nonconformities.

Establish nonconformance
management procedures.
 Implement nonconformance
management procedures.

Maintain nonconformance
management procedures.

Change documents when

nonconformities make it necessary.

4.5.4 Control your environmental

records.

Establish environmental records for

your organization.

Establish procedures to control

your environmental records.

Implement procedures to
control environmental
records.

Maintain procedures to
control environmental
records.

4.5.5 Perform internal

environmental management audits.

Plan the development of an internal

environmental management audit
program.

Establish your environmental

management audit program.

Implement your internal

environmental
management audit program.

Maintain your internal

environmental
management audit program.

Establish an environmental
management audit procedure.

Implement your internal

environmental
 management audit
procedure.

Maintain your internal

environmental
management audit
procedure.

Conduct internal audits of

environmental management
system.

Report internal audit results to your

organizations management.

4.6 Review Perform environmental

requirements management reviews.

Review the suitability, adequacy,

and effectiveness
of your environmental management
system.

Assess opportunities for

improvement.
Assess whether or not your
environmental
management system should be
changed.
Assess whether or not your
organizations
environmental policy should be
changed.
Assess whether or not your
organizations
environmental objectives should be
changed.
Assess whether or not your
organizations
environmental targets should be
changed.

Keep a record of your

environmental reviews.
 Carry out reviews by examining
your inputs.
Generate environmental review
outputs.

Comparison of ISO 14001 2004 and 14001 1996

I S O 1 4 0 0 1 - 4 . 1 Both the old standard and the new one

General requirements expects
you to establish and maintain an
environmental management s y s t e m
( E M S ) . However, the n e w standard also
expects you to document your EMS and
continually improve it. In addition,
section 4.1 adds the need to define and
document the scope of the EMS.

I S O 1 4 0 0 1 - 4 . 2 Both old and new standards expect

Environmental policy you to define an environmental policy.
However, the new standard asks you to
think about the scope of your EMS while
you define your policy.

The new standard also expects your

environmental policy to state that you
will comply with all applicable legal and
other requirements that affect how
you manage your environmental
aspects . This new wording is more
focused and narrower than the old
wording. This is because the old
standard talked about environmental
legislation and regulations in general,
while the new standard talks only about
those legal requirements that influence
how your environmental aspects should
be handled.

Section 4.2 also adds the need to

communicate the environmental policy to
all persons who work for
on behalf of your organization, not
just your employees. Therefore, you
need to make sure that your contractors
 also understand your policy.

I S O 1 4 0 0 1 - 4 . 3 . 1While both ISO 14001 1996 and ISO

Environmental aspects 14001 2004 expect you to establish and
maintain procedures to identify the
environmental aspects of your activities,
products, and services, the new standard
makes it clear that this also means that
you must implement (actually use) these
procedures.

The new standard also says that these

procedures should only be applied to
those activities, products, and services
that fall within the scope (boundary) of
your environmental management system.

In addition, it says that its not good

enough to just focus on
environmental aspect of existing
activities, products, and services.
You must also
focus on the activities, products,
and services
that you plan to develop or modify in
the future.

Finally, the new standard adds the

need to document the environmental
 aspects of your activities, products, and
services and to consider significant
aspects when you set up your EMS.

ISO 14001 - 4 . 3 . 2 Both old and new standards expect you

L e g a l a n d other establish and maintain a procedure to
requirements identify and clarify the legal and other
requirements that apply to your
environmental aspects. Here again, the
new standard wants you to not only
establish and maintain a procedure, it
also wants you to implement (use) it.

However, ISO 14001 2004 goes well

beyond the
old standard because it explicitly asks
you to use
this procedure to determine exactly how
these
legal and other requirements apply to
your environmental aspects. And once
you have this information, the new
standard expects you to
use it to design your EMS. None of this
was
obvious in the old standard.
I S O 1 4 0 0 1 - 4 . 3 . 3Both old and new standards expect you
Objectives and targets to establish
and maintain environmental objectives
and targets.
But the new standard makes it very
clear that
objectives and targets are useless unless
you also
try to implement or achieve them.
Since you need
to be able to tell whether youve
achieved your
objectives and targets, the new standard
also says
that your objectives and targets must be
measurable.

I S O 1 4 0 0 1 - 4 . 4 . 1While both old and new versions of the

R e s o u r c e s , r o l e sstandard
, expect you to provide the
responsibilities, andresources needed to implement an
authority EMS, the new standard also expects
you to provide the resources needed to
establish, maintain, and improve your
EMS.

I S O 1 4 0 0 1 - 4 . 4 . 2While both old and new standards stress

Competence, training, the importance of competence, the new
and awareness standard
makes it very clear that competence is
the reason why training and
awareness activities need to be
carried out. It also makes it clear that
competence and training records must
now be kept. This record keeping
requirement is new.

While both standards expect you to

identify training needs, the old ISO 14001
1996 standard wasnt very clear about
what kind of needs should be
considered. In order to address this
important shortcoming, the new
14001 standard now makes it clear
that you need to identify the training
needs associated with your
environmental aspects and your EMS.
ISO14001 - 4.4.3 The new ISO 14001 2004 standard
Communication expects you to establish a method to
communicate with external parties
about your significant environmental
aspects. This was not mentioned in
the old
standard. However, if you have
chosen not
to talk to outsiders about your
environmental
aspects, you can ignore this
requirement.

ISO14001 - 4.4.4 This section is almost entirely new. Only

Documentation two things havent changed: the need to
document the main elements (parts)
your EMS and how they interact, and
the need to identify other documents that
support or relate to your EMS.

New requirements include the need to

document the scope of your EMS as well
as your environmental policy ,
objectives , and targets . The new
standard also expects you to develop
or identify all of the documents and
records that are needed in order
comply with the ISO 14001 2004
standard. These include process
documents and records that are related
to your organizations significant
environmental aspects.

I S O 1 4 0 0 1 - 4 . 4 . 5Although the content of this section

Control of documents hasnt changed much, it has been
entirely reworked and some new
requirements have been added. New
requirements include the need to identify
changes that are made to documents and
the need to control external documents
that influence the planning and
operation of your EMS.

ISO 14001 - 4.4.6 Except for the quality of the writing (its
Operational control worse),
this section hasnt changed much.
While the
old standard asks you to establish and
 maintain procedures, the only thing
thats different about
the new standard is the need to also
implement them.

ISO14001 - 4.4.7 According to the old standard, all you

Emergency had to do
preparedness was establish and maintain procedures
and response to identify
and respond to potential environmental
emergency situations and accidents and
to prevent or mitigate their
environmental impact.

However, according to the new standard,

procedures arent enough. You also have
actually use these procedures not
only to respond to real emergencies and
accidents but also to prevent or
mitigate the adverse environmental
impacts that emergencies
and accidents can cause.

ISO 14001 - 4 . 5 . 1 The old standard expected you to

M o n i t o r i n g a n d calibrate and maintain your monitoring
measurement equipment, but it only implied that you
also needed to actually use this
equipment. This oversight has now been
corrected. Youre now explicitly
expected to actually use calibrated or
verified equipment to monitor and
measure those key environmental
characteristics
that have or could have a significant
impact
the environment.

ISO14001 - 4 . 5 . 2 This section is entirely new. It asks you

Evaluation of to establish, implement, and maintain
compliance procedures to periodically evaluate how
well your organization complies with all
relevant legal and other environmental
requirements. And it also asks you to
record the results of your evaluations.
ISO 14001 - 4.5.3 The old standard wanted you to establish
Nonconformity, a procedure to define the responsibility
corrective action, and authority for handling
and preventive action
nonconformities and taking corrective
and preventive actions. Notice that it
doesnt explicitly tell you to take action;
it tells you, instead, to assign
responsibility
and authority.

Because of this shortcoming, the new

standard
makes it clear that you not only need to
establish
procedures but you also need to
actually use
them to manage nonconformities, and
take
corrective and preventive actions.

In fact, the new standard goes even

further. It also expects you to
investigate nonconformities, to
determine their causes, to mitigate the
environmental impact that
nonconformities can have, and to record
the results that you achieve.

ISO 14001 - 4.5.4 While both old and new standards expect
Control of records you to establish and maintain
environmental records, the
old standard tells you what kinds of
records you need to keep while the new
standard talks more about what
environmental records should be able to
do. While the old standard tells you to
maintain training, audit, and review
records, the new one takes a more
abstract approach.

The new standard, instead, tells you

what your environmental records should
be able to demonstrate. Section 4.5.4
of the new standard doesnt tell you
which records to keep. It instead
says that your environmental records
should be able to prove that your
environmental management
 requirements are being met and that you
comply with the
14001 2004 standard.

ISO 14001 - 4.5.5 While the old standard talked about

Internal audit environmental
management audits in general, the new
one talks
about internal audits only. It also
clarifies some
points and adds some new requirements.

While the old standard emphasized the

need to develop audit programs and
procedures, the new standard makes it
clear that these programs and
procedures must also be used. It makes
it clear
that internal audits must actually be
conducted.

And since the new focus is on actually

doing audits, the new standard also
expects you to keep records and to
ensure that your internal auditors and
your internal audits are both impartial and
objective.
ISO14001 - 4.6 This section has been entirely reworked
Management and
review expanded in a big way. It now includes
material
management review inputs and
outputs.

According to the new standard,

management
review inputs should include audit
results, changes
in your environmental aspects,
communications
and complaints from external parties,
legal changes, previous management
reviews, the status of previous
corrective and preventive actions,
follow-up actions, and recommendations
for improvement.

The new standard also talks about

management review outputs. In this
context, outputs are decisions and
actions. O u t p u t s should include
decisions and actions that change
your environmental policy, objectives,
or targets, and improve your
organizations EMS. In general, outputs
should demonstrate your
organizations commitment to continual
improvement.