What is ISO 14001 DNV Booklet

8/9/2019 What is ISO 14001 DNV Booklet

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WHAT IS ISO 14001AND SHOULD ICARE?

DNV Business Assurance

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The role of standards

The objective of any standard, whether

it relates to the manufacture of cars,

airplanes, machinery, or the delivery

of a service - transportation, hospitals,

etc. - is the same. Standards are

designed to promote, facilitate andenable consistency in a process or

product; to provide assurance that the

process or product output will meet

requirements, to provide a uniform

and predictable output every time

a set of procedures are executed.

It is important to understand that

standards, in and of themselves, do not

necessarily produce a quality process

or product.

The ISO 14001 standard was published

by ISO in September 1996, andsubsequently revised in 2004. It was

developed to allow

organizations to formulate a policy,

objectives and targets and implement

programs within a structured

management systems framework.

Simultaneously,

legislative requirements, important

public issues and plant-specific

environmental concerns shall be

considered and included where

applicable within the framework of the

environmental management system.

What is an EnvironmentalManagement System?

An EMS is the management system

that addresses the environmental

impact of a companys processes,

products and services on theenvironment. The EMS provides a

formalized structure for ensuring that

environmental concerns are addressed

and met, and works to both control a

companys significant environmental

effects and achieve regulatory

compliance.

The ISO 14000 Series ofStandards

ISO 14000 is a series of international

environmental management systemstandards. They can be divided into

process related standards and product

oriented standards.

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Organization oriented processstandards14001 Environmental management

systems.Specification and

guidance for use.

14004 Environmental management

systems. General guidelines onprinciples, systems and

supporting techniques.

19011 Guidelines for Quality and/or

Environmental Management

System Auditing.

14015 Environmental site assessments.

14031 Evaluation of the

environmental performance of

the management system and its

relationship to the environment.

Product oriented standards

14020 Goals and principles of all environmental labeling.

14021 Environmental labeling - self

declaration environmental

claims. Terms & definitions.

14022 Environmental labeling -

symbols.

14023 Environmental labeling - testing

and verification methodologies.

14024 Environmental labeling -

practitioner programs. Guiding

principles, practices and

certification procedures for

multiple-criteria programs.

14040 Environmental management -

life cycle assessment. General

principles and guidelines.


life cycle assessment. General

principles and guidelines.14042 Environmental management -

life cycle assessment.


life cycle assessment.

Interpretation.

14050 Terms and definitions.

14060 Guide for the inclusion of

environmental aspects in

product standards.

ISO 14001 is the auditable

standard against which certificates of

compliance are issued.

The ISO 14000 series of standards is

one of more than 15,000 different

standards which are maintained

by the International Organization

for Standardization in Geneva,

Switzerland. The reference to ISO

comes from the Greek word Isos

meaning equal or the same - isobars,

isotherms, etc. The concept is one

of consistency, predictability and

repeatability of processes.

Standards


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Evolution of the iSO 14000

series of standardsAs a result of the United Nationsconference on Environmental

Development held in Brazil in June

1992, the International Organization

for Standardization in Geneva

made a commitment to support the

development of a set of environmentalmanagement system standards. ISO

Technical Committee TC 207 was

formed in 1993. Members of TC 207

and its subcommittee were drawn from

all over the world. A consensus process

agreement was first reached through

these committees and ISO 14001 (the

auditable standard) was first released

in 1996.

The standards are revised through

review and revision recommendations

made by ISO member countriesor national bodies. There are

approximately 140 member countries

and national bodies. Each member,

through its committees and sub-

committees, provides input on

suggested changes to the standards

back through a hierarchy to ISOs

headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The structure of the ISO 14001standardThe structure of ISO 14001 is

complimentary to the clause structure of

ISO 9001:2000.

General requirements ofISO 14001:20044.1 General Requirements

4.2 Environmental Policy

4.3 Planning

4.3.1 Environmental Aspects 4.3.2 Legal and Other Requirements

4.3.3 Objectives, Targets and

Programs

4.4 Implementation and Operation

4.4.1 Resources, Roles,

Responsibility and Authority

4.4.2 Competence, Training

and Awareness

4.4.3 Communication

4.4.4 Documentation

4.4.5 Control of Documents

4.4.6 Operational Control

4.4.7 Emergency Preparedness andResponse

4.5 Checking

4.5.1 Monitoring and Measurement

4.5.2 Evaluation of Legal

Compliance

4.5.3 Non-Conformity and Preventive

and Corrective Action

4.5.4 Control of Records

4.5.5 Internal Audit

4.6 Management Review

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What does ISO 14001 - relatedregistration/certificationrequire?

Registration requires evidence of

implementation of ISO 14001,

which also includes: procedures tomaintain compliance to applicable

laws, commitment to continual

improvement (in a broad sense),

and commitment to prevention of

pollution (e.g. recycling, process

changes, energy efficiency, materials

substitution).

Whether a company decides to seek

third-party registration or certification

to ISO 14001 will be dependent on

the objectives the company has in

conforming to ISO 14001, as wellas the market and public context in

which the company operates. For some

companies, third-party certification

may be the most reasonable option.

For example, companies selling

products to markets in Europe might

face considerable pressure to obtain

third-party certification. However,

even in Europe, companies should not

presume certification will be necessary.

It is very important to understand

that either third-party certification or

self-declaration are available options.

Third-party certification may or may

not be mandated by the suppliers

customers.

Acceptance of the standards

The ISO 14000 series of standards

has been accepted and adopted

throughout

the world. There are an estimated

40,000 certificates that have been

issued in more than 80 countries.

Certificates issued in Europe now

exceed 20,000.

There are currently more than

4,000 certificates in the U.S., 1,500in Canada and approximately 600

in Mexico. It is estimated that an

additional 2,500 companies in North

America are actively in the process of

implementing an ISO 14001 compliant

environmental management system.

Should ISO 14001 certificationbe in my plans?

There are costs associated with

implementing an ISO 14001 compliant

Requirements


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environmental management system. If

companies are to make this investmentthen it is important that they are able

to derive a benefit and a return on that

investment.

There are really only four reasons why

anyone would consider ISO 14001

certification:

1. For the value of an ISO 14001

compliant system to identify and

reduce potential aspects and impacts

that result from a companys process.

This will facilitate reducing the

likelihood of an environmental impact

occurring and can also reduce the

magnitude of the impact. It can also

improve processes and increase the

productivity and effectiveness of the

system. These attributes can in turn

result in reduced scrap and rework,more efficient handling and disposal

of waste and by-products and therefore

increased profitability. This has

the potential to increase customer

satisfaction and raise stakeholder

confidence in the company.

Stakeholders include shareholders,

employees, customers, suppliers and

the local community.

So how do you determine if

certification will have value for you

and your company? The key is to

benefit from those who have alreadygone through the certification process.

Most companies that have become

certified are usually proud of their

achievement and happy to share

their experience with others. Lists of

certified companies are available from

the registrars or certifying bodies.By selecting companies who are in

similar businesses to yours (your direct

competitors are probably not going to

share much information with you) and

asking them a few pertinent questions,

you can get a pretty good feel for

the value of certification to these

companies.

Questions like: What have been

the benefits of certification? Can

you measure these benefits and

express them in dollars - i.e. returnon investment? What was the single

biggest barrier to certification? What

would you do differently if you had to

do this over again? How much did it

cost and how long did it take?

2. From a sales and marketing point

of view, would certification make a

difference? With a like price, product

or service as your competitors, would

ISO 14001 certification make a

difference in your customers

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decision process in selecting a

supplier? Does certification representa means of differentiating you from

your competition? Are you losing

business because your competitors are

already certified?

Talk to your sales and marketing

personnel, get answers to thesequestions on a regular basis things

change.

3. Are one or more of your largest

customers likely to require that you

have ISO 14001 certification in order

to continue to be a preferred supplier,

or worse, require certification to even

be allowed to bid on

contracts? Once again you need to get

your sales and marketing people to ask

these questions of your customers on a

regular basis.

4. Are there regulatory requirements

for you to have ISO 14001

certification? The American Chemistry

Council (ACC), formerly the Chemical

Manufacturers Association, is now

requiring compliance with RC14001.

The RC14001 standard combines

Responsible Care with ISO 14001

requirements. It is important to note

that certification will not remove your

obligation to comply with federal, state

and local environmental requirements.

The ISO 14001 implementationmethodology will generally serve to

facilitate implementation of other

mandatory environmental compliance

requirements.

Some states are providing incentives to

encourage companies to implementan EMS or to become certified to ISO

14001. Examples, Texas and Wisconsin

are lining up bipartisan support for

so called green programs (e.g.

Clean Texas) designed for a company

to voluntarily exceed regulatory

compliance through ISO 14001 or an

equivalent program.

Texas legislation provides for

regulatory incentives, among them

reduced inspections, on-site technical

assistance, and, in certain situationseven modification of state or federal

regulatory requirements.

The answers to these four questions

should provide you with a strong basis

to make an informed decision as to

whether ISO 14001 should be in your

companys plans. One thing is key,

if based on the answers to the above

questions you make a determination

that ISO 14001 should be in your

companys future, put plans in place


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How long does it take and howmuch will it cost?

The time to implement an ISO 14001

compliant system is a function of the

size of the company, the number of

people involved under the scope of the

certification, the complexity ofthe processes, the number and

significance of the aspects and

impacts, and the degree to which the

existing EMS meets the requirements

of the standard. A typical time line

for implementation would be six to

twelve months. Certification costs, that

is those fees paid to the registrar, are

small compared to the internal costs

of implementation. The fees are a

function of the audit days required to

verify compliance which is a function

of the number of employees andthe number and complexity of the

processes which relates to the aspects

and impacts. Most registrars will

provide a no obligation quotation on

request.

Selecting a Registrar

If you are planning on becoming

certified to ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949,

ISO 14001, or any other accredited

management system scheme, the

selection of your certifying body is an

important decision.

Everything being equal, it is a

relationship that will be in place for

a very long time. That is why it is so

important that your choice is one which

will provide you with a partnership

approach to certification, provide youwith value-added services and result

in a certification that is recognized

and accepted by your customers and

prospects.

In the ISO 14001 market place there

are a large number of registrars in

North America offering certification

services. It is an unregulated market -

that is anybody can set themselves up as

an ISO 14001 registrar, perform audits

and issue certificates. It is very much a

buyer beware market place.

So how do you go about making an

informed decision when selecting

your registrar?

Areas to consider when evaluating

registrars:

Technical competencies

Interpretation of the standards

and overall philosophy

Price

People factors


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Technical competencies

The rules that registrars operate

under are largely governed by the

accreditation bodies. Most of the

countries that have adopted the

ISO 14000 series of standards havetheir own national accreditation body.

In the U.S. that body is the American

National Accreditation Board (ANAB

formerly the RAB). Accreditation is

an important attribute when selecting

a registrar and a key factor in making

your initial short list of candidates.

In order to become accredited a

registrar has to undergo a rigorous

audit and review process. Very

similar to the ISO 14000 certification

process, in order to maintain their

accreditation, they are subject toongoing surveillance or periodic

audits. But not all accredited registrars

are created equally. There are

considerable differences between

them.

Interpretation of the standardsand overall philosophy

There are variances in how registrars

interpret the standards, their general

audit philosophy are they auditing to

the letter of the standard, or do they

adopt a more pragmatic approach of

auditing to the intent of the standard?

What kind of customer service

response can you expect if you select

a particular registrar? What is their

track record on customer satisfaction?

What experience does this particularregistrar have in your industry sector

how many certificates have they issued

to businesses like yours?

These questions are best answered

by talking to clients who have

selected and have become certified

by the registrar you are considering.

Reference accounts are fine but are

generally selected or pre-screened by

the registrar. A more effective and

potentially unbiased approach is for

you to make the customer selectionyourself. If a registrar is accredited

they are obligated to produce and

maintain a list of all companies that

they have certified. The list may be in

hard copy or part of their web page.

Once you access the list, pick six or

seven companies. Select companies

that are either in similar businesses to

yours, geographically close to you, or

just pick companies whose judgment

you trust.

9Interpretation and Philosophy


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If you call these companies and ask the

challenging questions - What was yourexperience with XYZ registrar? What

impressed you most about the

registrar? What did you least like about

your dealings with them? Would you

recommend them to others? If you

ask these questions of six or seven

companies, you will get a pretty goodpicture of the overall character and

the philosophy of the registrar.

Everything being equal, this is a

relationship that will be in place

for a long time and it is therefore

imperative that you make a decision

based on sound information.

Price

Money is important to most of us

as individuals, as employees and asmanagers and owners of businesses.

Most of the major registrars have an

overall cost of certification, which is

very similar. Auditor day rate might

appear to be a convenient indicator

to compare registrar costs, but it will

not give you the basis for an apples-to-

apples comparison.

An important thing to keep in mind

is that registrars have many different

ways of actually structuring their

quotations. There are some registrarsthat have application, listing and

administration fees, adders to travel

expenses, cancellation and deferment

fees. There are almost as many pricing

schemes as there are registrars. How

they price is not nearly as important

as the overall cost for certification -having said that, keep a look out for

cancellation and deferment charges,

which can be particularly unfriendly.

Irrespective of how a quotation is

structured, the important thing is that

you are able to determine the exact

cost-of-ownership. Most registrars

will have certificates which are valid

for three years. However the pricing

is structured, ask for quotations in a

format that will allow you to determine

the full costs for a three-year period,which is the typical certification cycle.

That way you can make an apples-

to-apples comparison of registrar

charges.

When making a registrar selection,

price is important but should not be

your primary selection criteria. If you

make a decision based solely on price,

you are probably making a decision

that you may regret later. Certification

is a free market service.


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This means that there is no

requirement for a registrar to be

accredited (some industry specific

standards may require accreditation).

If a registrar is unaccredited there are

no rules or requirements for auditor

training and qualifications, industryexperience, the methodology for the

certification process and more.

Compliance with accreditation

requirements costs money - but has

value to you as a customer.

Look for registrars that offer value

added services beyond the structured

certification process. Your company

listing on their web site, electronic

access to your audit reports and audit

schedule.

The external fees that you will pay to

registrars for your certification are

small compared to money you will

have invested internally in putting

your system in place. Most estimates

will show that the internal costs are at

least 10 times the costs that you will

pay the registrar. Having made the

commitment and investment to

implement a compliant system - keep

cost in mind when making your

registrar selection but make sure that

you take into account the other

important factors listed here.

People Factors

Most registrars who are accredited

have very similar technicalcompetencies, because these

competencies are defined and are

requirements of the accreditation

bodies. Some registrars will have

the right philosophical approach

described above and most will be

about the same price range.

So all these things being equal - how

do you make an informed decision?

The registration process is a people

business - outside of the certificateitself, there is no physical product.

The product consists of a series of

interfaces from initial requests for

information, requests for quotations,

answers to questions, visits

and presentations.

Ask yourself the following questions

about your initial experiences when

dealing with a potential registrar

candidate. They will give you a pretty

good indication where the registrar is

11Summary


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on the people factor scale:

What was and has been the response

to your requests?

Were the responses timely?

What was the general attitude of the

people you had to deal with?

Do they really act like they would want

and work to keep your business?

Are these the kind of people that you

would look forward to having a long

term business relationship with?

SummarySelecting a registrar is an important

decision. It is a relationship which will

ideally be in place for a long time.

Taking the time to evaluate registrarsbased on the above criteria will be a

good investment of your time.

About DNVDNV is one of the leading

management system certifying bodies

in the world having issued more than

70,000 certificates across a very broad

spectrum of manufacturing and service

industries.

DNV Academy

DNV offers on-site and publictraining courses as well as online

courses related to quality, safety, the

environment and food & beverage.

Go towww.dnvtraining.comfor more

information.

Webinars - Live & On DemandDNV offers free webinars, both live

and on-demand, covering various

topics related to quality and safety.

For a schedule of live and a list of on

demand webinars, go to

www.dnvcert.com.

Additional informationCopies of the ISO 14000 series of

standards can be purchased from the

American Society for Quality (ASQ) at

http://qualitypress.asq.org

For additional free copies of this

leaflet, to request a quotation or

for additional information about

certification, please call:

Toll Free: 1.877.DNV.3530 or

1.877.368.3530

E-mail: [email protected]

Web Site: www.dnvcert.com


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