Quick Guide to ISO 14001 For those of you who just need a brief overview of the requirements of the ISO 14001: 2004 standard, we have prepared a short guide: ISO 14001 is concerned with providing a framework through which you can comply with a whole raft of Environmental regulations and relevant Acts of Parliament. For example, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND POLLUTION CONTROL ACT of 1990.
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You need to SET OUT YOUR POLICY for Environmental Management This will include details of how you intend to prevent environmental problems and how you will put in place a method of continually improving your environmental management system
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You will need to have a GRASP on all forms of environmental legislation and regulation
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You will need to MONITOR your compliance with the requirements set out in legislation and regulation
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You will need to RECOGNISE ALL the aspects of your business that will have SUBSTANTIAL IMPACTS on the environment and also pick out those that it can manage or influence
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You will need to SET OUT TARGETS that seek to reduce your business’s environmental impacts on a continual basis
There are also a number of overall system requirements that mean that you have to: ♦
Demonstrate ADEQUATE WHEREWITHAL to carry out the identified requirements. This means properly trained staff as well as financial resources.
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MAKE SURE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS their roles and responsibilities within the Environmental Management System
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Ensure that you have APPROPRIATE AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ROUTES within your organisation
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KEEP RECORDS of particular events defined by the standard
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DEVELOP PROCEDURES that describe how you carry out specific activities
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PLAN for potential environmental accidents, such as spillage of toxic substances
All of the above actions can be further broken down, but once you get to that point, you are moving out of the realms of Quick Guides and into professional consultancy and support! Call us today (01983) 854581 to arrange for us to help you with finding your way around these requirements.