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Keshav Ram Singhal
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Saturday, April 16, 2016

BACKGROUND OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM



There are three pillars of sustainability that can be seen as: (i) Economic, (ii) Environmental, and (iii) Social. Some authors suggest three pillars as: (i) Ecology, (ii) Economy, and (iii) Equity, and they also expand these three pillars by including the fourth pillar as culture, institution or governance. These pillars needs to be balanced in order to achieve the goal of sustainable development. Achieving the balance between these pillars is considered necessary to meet present needs without compromising the needs of future generations.



There are growing pressure on environment from the following:
- Pollution,
- Inefficient use of resources,
- Improper waste management,
- Climate change,
- Degradation of ecosystem,
- Loss of biodiversity

More stringent rules and regulations (legal framework) are required as a societal expectations for transparency, accountability and sustainable development. All these factors have led us to adopt a systematic approach to environmental management by implementing environmental management system so that we may contribute to the environmental pillars of sustainability.

ISO 14001:2015 EMS is a standard that specifies requirements for an environmental management system. An organization can use ISO 14001:2015 EMS standard to enhance organization's environmental performance.

Best wishes,

Keshav Ram Singhal

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

ISO 14001:2015 EMS


The world's most popular standards for environmental management has been revised and ISO 14001:2014 EMS standard was published on 15 September 2015. In this regard, please CLICK HERE for ISO link. I'll make efforts to publish articles on ISO 14001:2015 EMS. Thanking you, Keshav Ram Singhal

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

THE STANDARD – ISO 14001:2004

ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard is consistent with the concept of sustainable development. It is compatible with diverse cultural, social and organizational frameworks and systems of management.

This standard can be used by organizations of all types, sizes and levels of maturity, and in all sectors and geographic locations. Accordingly, this standard can be used by manufacturing unit as well as by service organization. This standard accommodates the special needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

If we look to the contents of ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard, we find that the standard is focused on clarification of the earlier version (ISO 14001:1996) and has taken due consideration of the provisions of ISO 9001:2000 QMS Standard to enhance compatibility of these two standards for the benefit of the user community.



ISO/TC 207 is the technical committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) responsible for developing the ISO 14000 series of environmental management standards and guidance documents. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee ISO/TC 207 has established various international standards.

ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard contains requirements of an environmental management system. Requirements given in this standard may be objectively audited for certification / registration purposes or for self-declaration purposes. ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard includes examples, descriptions and options that aid both in the implementation of an environmental management system and in strengthening its relation to the overall management of an organization.

In the introduction part of the ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard, a note on the application of PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) methodology has been added to make continual improvement in environmental performance more clear. On looking to the EMS model in ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard, we find that the intent of the EMS model of earlier version – ISO 14001:1996 – has been retained.

Monday, February 20, 2012

ISO/TC 207

SUBCOMMITTEES (SC), WORKING GROUPS (WG) AND TERMINOLOGY COORDINATION GROUPS (TCG)

Following subcommittees, working groups and terminology coordination groups of ISO/TC 207 are producing standards and guidance documents in the area mentioned below:

ISO/TC 207 – SC1 – Environmental Management Systems
ISO/TC 207 – SC2 – Environmental Auditing and related investigations
ISO/TC 207 – SC3 – Environmental Labelling
ISO/TC 207 – SC4 – Environmental Performance Evaluations
ISO/TC 207 – SC5 – Life Cycle Assessment
ISO/TC 207 – TCG – Terms and definitions
ISO/TC 207 – WG4 – Environmental Communications
ISO/TC 207 – WG5 – Climate Change

Sunday, February 19, 2012

BASIS AND PRINCIPLES BEHIND THE ISO 14000 SERIES STANDARDS

The ISO 14000 series Standards are developed with the following objectives:
• They must result in better environmental management.
• They must be applicable in all nations.
• They should promote the broad interests of the public and the users of the standards.
• They should be cost effective, non-prescriptive, and flexible, to allow them to meet the differing needs of organizations of any size worldwide.
• As part of their flexibility, they should be suitable for internal or external verification.
• They should be scientifically based.
• And above all, they should be practical, useful and useable.


ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard is based upon the following principles:

Principle 1 – Commitment and policy: An organization should define its environmental policy and ensure commitment to its environmental management system.

Principle 2 – Planning: An organization should formulate a plan to fulfill its environmental policy.

Principle 3 – Implementation: For effective implementation, an organization should develop the capabilities and support mechanisms necessary to achieve its environmental policy, objectives and targets.

Principle 4 – Measurement and evaluation: An organization should check (monitor, measure and evaluate) its environmental performance.

Principle 5 – Review and improvement: An organization should review and continually improve its environmental management system, with the objective of improving its overall environmental performance.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

There is growing concern all over the world for improving the quality of environment. More and more attention has been given in recent years to what is called ‘environmental quality’. Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to environmental impacts of their activities, products and services. These organizations are of all types and sizes. There is importance of the environmental performance of an organization to internal and external parties. There is a need of organizational commitment to a systematic approach and to continual improvement of an environmental management system (EMS) to achieve sound environmental performance. An environmental management system (EMS) is part of an organization’s overall management system. It is a systematic approach dealing with the environmental aspects of an organization. Environmental management system (EMS) is a tool, which enables an organization to control the impact of its activities, product and / or services on the natural environment. Environmental management system (EMS) provides a framework to help organizations to identify those aspects of their business that have a significant impact on the environment.

ISO 14001:2004 is an international standard that provides assistance to organizations that wish to implement or improve an environmental management system (EMS) and thereby improve their environmental performance. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published this international standard.

ORIGIN OF ISO 14001

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) had already established standards for the quality of air, water, and soil. During the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Business Council for Sustainable Development suggested that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) should develop international standards for environmental performance based on the concept of sustainable development. In 1993, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) formed the technical committee 207 on environmental management to develop international standards for environmental management. Accordingly, ISO 14001 “Environmental Management Systems – Specification with guidance for use” was first published in 1996 and revised in 2004 and then published under the title “Environmental Management Systems – Requirements with guidance for use”.

ISO – INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION

‘ISO’ is ‘International Organization for Standardization’. It is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies, comprising 163 members (as on 31 August 2010), one each country. The object of the ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with a view to facilitating international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. The results of ISO technical work are published as INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. ISO has developed over 18,000 International Standard on a variety of subjects and some 1100 new ISO standards are published every year.

OBTAINING COPY OF THE STANDARD

Copy of ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard and other ISO 14000 family Standards can be obtained from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Geneva, Switzerland. The Address of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is as under:

International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
ISO Central Secretariat,
1, rue de Varembe, Case postale 56,
CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
Email: sales@iso.org

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS – a national standards body of India) has also published Indian Standard IS/ISO 14001:2004 and other ISO 14000 family Standards as Indian Standards. The address of the Bureau of Indian Standards is as under:

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
Manak Bhavan, 9, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,
New Delhi – 110002, India.

It is suggested to have a copy of ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard from the ISO, Geneva (Switzerland) or IS/ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard from the sales counter of Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.


THE ISO 14000 SERIES

ISO 14000 is a series of international, voluntary environmental management standards. Developed under ISO Technical Committee 207, the ISO 14000 series of standards address the following aspects of environmental management:
• Environmental management systems (EMS)
• Environmental auditing and related investigations (EA&RI)
• Environmental labels and declaration (EL)
• Environmental performance evaluation (EPE)
• Life cycle assessment (LCA), and
• Terms and definitions (T&D)

A set of international standards ISO 14000 series – published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) – provides a focus to the environment. These standards encourage a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for us all. With the implementation of these standards, organizations may focus on environmental efforts against internationally accepted norms. The ISO series of standards effectively address the needs of organizations worldwide by providing a common framework for managing environmental issues, they promise to effect a broadly based improvement in environmental management, which in turn can facilitate trade and improve environmental performance worldwide.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published a document “Environmental Management – The ISO 14000 family of International Standards”. This document can be downloaded from the ISO website or obtained from the central secretariat of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The ISO 14000 series of standards contains following standards –

• ISO 14001:2004 – Environmental management systems – Requirements with guidance for use
• ISO 14004:2004 – Environmental management systems – General guidelines on principles, systems and support techniques
• ISO/DIS 14005 – Environmental management systems – Guidelines for the phased implementation of an environmental management system, including the use of environmental performance evaluation
• ISO/DIS 14006 – Environmental management systems – Guidelines for incorporating eco-design
• ISO 14015:2001 – Environmental management – Environmental assessment of sites and organizations (EASO)
• ISO 14020:2000 – Environmental labels and declarations – General principles
• ISO 14021:1999 – Environmental labels and declarations – Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labeling)
• ISO 14024:1999 – Environmental labels and declarations – Type I environmental labeling – Principles and procedures
• ISO 14025:2006 - Environmental labels and declarations – Type II environmental declarations – Principles and procedures
• ISO 14031: 1999 – Environmental management – Environmental performance evaluation – Guidelines
• ISO/AWI 14033 – Environmental management – Quantitative environmental information – Guidelines and examples
• ISO 14040:2006 – Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework
• ISO 14044:2006 – Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and guidelines
• ISO/WD 14045 – Eco-efficiency assessment – Principles and requirements
• ISO/TR 14047:2003 – Environmental management – Life cycle impact assessment – Example of application of ISO 14042
• ISO/TS 14048:2002 – Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Data documentation format
• ISOP/TR 14049:2000 – Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Examples of application of ISO 14041 to goal and scope definition and inventory analysis
• ISO 14050: 2009 – Environmental management – Vocabulary
• ISO/DIS 14051 – Environmental management – Material flow cost accounting – General framework
• ISO/TR 14062:2002 – Environmental management – Integrating environmental aspect
• ISO 14063:2006 – Environmental management – Environmental communications – Guidelines and examples
• ISO 14064 – 1:2006 – Greenhouse gases – Part 1: Specifications with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals
• ISO 14064 – 2:2006 – Greenhouse gases – Part 2: Specifications with guidance at the project level for quantification , monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removal enhancements
• ISO 14064 – 3:2006 – Greenhouse gases – Part 3: Specifications with guidance for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions
• ISO 14065:2007 – Greenhouse gases – Requirements for greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies for use in accreditation and other forms of recognition
• ISO/CD 14066 – Greenhouse gases – Competency requirements for greenhouse gas validators and verifiers document
• ISO/WD 14067 – 1 – Carbon footprint of products – Part 1 - Quantification
• ISO/WD 14067 – 2 – Carbon footprint of products – Part II - Communication
• ISO/AWI 14069 – GHG – Quantification and reporting of GHG emissions for organizations (Carbon footprint of organizations) – Guidance for application of ISO 14064 - 1
• ISO 19011:2002 – Guidelines for quality and / or environmental management systems auditing
• ISO Guide 64:2008 – Guide for addressing environmental issues in product standards
(Source – ISO Website)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

NEW EDITION OF ISO 14050:2009 PUBLISHED

A newly revised ISO standard will facilitate even further the application of the ISO 14000 series on environmental management. By establishing a common vocabulary, the standard will ensure the effectiveness of communication, key for the implementation and operation of environmental management systems (EMS).
This third edition of ISO 14050:2009, Environmental management – Vocabulary has been fully updated to include the latest developments in the field. The standard now provides clear and concise definitions of all concepts and terms used throughout the ISO 14000 series in the three official ISO languages, English, French and Russian, as well as in Arabic and Spanish. The standard also provides equivalent terms in Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish.
An ISO survey published last year showed that up to the end of 2007 at least 154 572 certificates of compliance with ISO 14001:2004 (requirements for environmental management systems) had been issued in 148 countries.
Currently there are 21 published standards in the ISO 14000 series. ISO 14001 and ISO 14004 provide requirements and guidelines for establishing an EMS. The rest address specific environmental aspects including labeling, product design, performance evaluation, greenhouse gases, life cycle assessment, communication, and auditing. ISO 14050 compiles the terms in all these standards in one practical document.
ISO 14050:2008, Environmental management – Vocabulary, was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management. It is available from ISO national member institutes. It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat.

Courtesy Source: ISO Press Release dated 3 March 2009