Feedback needed on new 14001 draft

IEMA is calling for members' feedback on the latest proposed changes to ISO 14001

The group working to update the environment management standard agreed a second committee draft (CD) at a meeting last month, responding to feedback on the first CD which was published at the beginning of 2013.

Changes include significant revision and restructure of the requirements relating to planning (6.1), in particular in relation to environmental aspects and impacts, and their relationship to organisational risks and opportunities.

“The new text makes it clear that significant environmental aspects are not necessarily organisational risks and opportunities,” explained Martin Baxter, executive director of policy at IEMA. “Clause 6.1.4 brings into much clearer focus the relationship between impacts on the environment and the impact of the environment on an organisation.”

Other changes include a tightening of the definition of top management, clarifying that they cannot delegate authority for certain elements of environment management; more streamlined requirements related to controlling value chains; and a new definition of “environmental condition”.

IEMA is keen to see whether members think the changes have improved the overall clarity of the standard and ask their opinions on its auditability.

“We want to understand where the areas of difficulty lie in terms of implementation issues,” confirmed Baxter.

“Is there clarity on what’s being required, for example, and if not, how can we provide that clarity? We also want to know people’s opinion on the flow of 6.1 and the extent to which the definition of risk in 3.15 is relevant and works.”

Consultation on the second CD closes in January. IEMA will be asking for members’ feedback at a series of workshops in December.