The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) voted in early November 2011 to revise ISO 14001 – the leading standard for Environmental Management Systems. Data available from ISO shows that over 250,000 organisations have achieved accredited certification to ISO 14001 in 155 countries around the world. Use of the standard is probably the single biggest global voluntary initiative to improve organisational environmental performance.
Revisions to ISO 14001 have moved into the final stages, after 92% of member bodies of the International Organisation for Standardisation approved the draft. The revised standard aims to align environment management systems more closely with an organisation’s strategy. It places greater emphasis on reducing environmental impacts across the whole lifecycle of products and services, including supply chains, and in the development and use of products and services. The new standard will also require organisations to consider impacts from a changing environment and provide a framework for organisations to manage the risks and maximise the opportunities from trends such as the scarcity of natural resources and climate change. The next meeting of the international working group drafting the standard will be held in February in Tokyo to produce the final version to be published later in 2015.
Source: Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA)