4. Transition Overview
• Three years to transition
• Existing certifications can be upgraded at any point in
the three years
• New certifications can be to either standard
• ISO 14001:2004 certificates will have valid until dates
of the transition deadline
5. UKAS Approval
• Certification Bodies need to have specific UKAS
approval before ISO 14001:2015 certificates can
be issued.
• UKAS have not yet published their requirements
for this.
6. Normal Adopters
• Upgrade audits may be conducted at standard
Surveillance / Recertification auditing, or a one-off
Special audit.
• Upgrade can be conducted at one audit, or spread over
a number of audits.
• Upgrade will likely require additional audit time to cover
both standards.
7. Normal Adopters (cont.)
• The issue of an ISO 14001:2015 certificate can
only be granted once outstanding issues (Major
NCs) have been addressed.
8. Early Adopters
• Upgrade audits may be conducted against the
FDIS when published.
• Certification to be issued on final publication,
following an internal gap-analysis by the CB.
9. Accreditation
• UK Certification Bodies are accredited by UKAS (United
Kingdom Accreditation Service).
• Accreditation is against ISO/IEC TS 17021:2011 – the
standard for CBs.
• Accreditation is for specific industry areas
– Accreditation schedules on UKAS website:
http://www.ukas.com/about-accreditation/accredited-bodies/
– Look for “EA 37 – Education”. CBs without this are not competent
to audit the education sector.
11. Key Audit Changes
Context of the Organisation
“What extent should we go to when determining what
internal and external issues, etc. are relevant to us to
satisfy the auditor?”
• Until it stops adding value.
• The system is for your benefit – not the auditor’s.
12. Key Audit Changes
Leadership
Top management shall demonstrate leadership and
commitment with respect to the environmental
management system…
• Audits will likely need to start planning to involve
top management, if they aren’t already.
• Auditing will need to be flexible to account for the
multitude of priorities top management will have.
13. Key Audit Changes
Business Strategy
Top management shall … [ensure] that the
environmental policy and environmental objectives …
are compatible with the strategic direction … of the
organisation
• Audits will likely look into areas of strategy, and
collaboration between EMS teams and strategic
decision makers, to a greater extent.
14. Key Audit Changes
Integration
Top management shall … [ensure] the integration of
the environmental management system requirements
into the organization’s business processes
• Expectation for moving away from a silo mentality
for EMS management.
15. Key Audit Changes
Documented Information
The revised standard is flexible in allowing
organisations to determine whether documented
information is required for a number of clauses.
• Auditing should be adaptive to this.
16. SUMMARY
• The transition should be a partnership
• Don’t panic – there’s plenty of time to make
any changes
• Systems should be updated to benefit the
user, not the auditor
ISO 14001 is changing. Currently at DIS – FDIS coming in the next month or so, followed by the full standard in Q3.
Lot of questions – from people using ISO 14001 already, and those thinking about implementing it.
People using ISO 14001 at the moment will tend to have questions in three categories.
What are the changes and how do we go about making them and benefiting from them – covered by EcoCampus
Transition process:
- When do we need to start working to the new standard?
- How do we get certified?
Change in audit approach:
- How far will companies need to go to satisfy the auditor?
- What challenges will the auditor face with new requirements?
‘What extent should we go to when determining what internal and external issues are relevant to us?’
We would not expect all potential scenarios to be taken into consideration separately: i.e. how will the decline of the natterjack toad affect my business?
‘What extent should we go to when determining who our interested parties and their needs and expectations are?’
There is no point in doing a short survey of 7 billion to work out precisely who is an interested party and who isn’t.
Commitment and active support is required from top management, and this needs to be demonstrated. This can result in CEOs, MDs, ect. Being more involved in the audit process.
Evidence will be required of how they do this:
- via evidence of involvement
- via interviews with management
- via interviews with staff about management
It is expected that there will be a lot more communication between the environmental manager and the strategy makers to ensure compatibility.
Where the EMS has been fully integrated within the organisation then this potentially opens up the scope of what needs to be looked at during the audit. In some organisations where the EMS is currently it’s own separate silo this could result in a very different audit approach, with a lot more focus on looking into the actual operations of the organisation.
No requirement to document who interested parties are or what their needs and expectations are:
- If these are not documented then other evidence will be needed, such as linkages with other parts of the system (establishment of compliance obligations, availability of policy, receipt of external communications, etc.)
- Consistency between audit years.
No requirement to document external and internal issues:
- If these are not documented then other evidence will be needed, such as linkages with other parts of the system (such as risks associated with threats and opportunities), discussion with top management (e.g. are political or competitive drivers regarding the environment taken into consideration in planning), discussions with staff (e.g. comparing what the internal culture is advised to be like to what it is observed to be like during the audit).