Why should an EMS Change be Documented?

The management and tracking of changes are vital aspects of administering an ISO 14001-certified EMS (Environmental Management System). Throughout the lifecycle of your EMS, change will occur, whether it is due to new legislation, modifications in existing legislation, or new projects and initiatives that are formed and implemented to achieve improved performance against your agreed-upon objectives.

So, while change is necessary to guarantee that your EMS functions well and eventually achieves continuous improvement, it is equally critical that any changes in your EMS be precisely recorded for both successful implementation and historical purposes. So, what are the drivers of this shift, and what variables should we examine when selecting how to document evidence of change?

EMS Changed:  Why should it be Documented?

As previously said, change in the EMS might occur for a variety of reasons, including systemic, legislative, or procedural changes. The ISO 14001:2015 standard emphasises “change” several times, notably as a vital aspect in managing the EMS in such a way that the expected results can be accomplished. According to the standard, management of this transformation may involve, for example, the management of suppliers, workers, external providers, or compliance duties. So, we can see that there are several strong reasons for recording change, but are there any other things to consider while examining this element? Let’s take a closer look:

1. Legislative Changes: These are time-sensitive, and any changes should be documented and implemented as soon as possible. If your organization fails to comply with legislation, it may be penalised or suffer unfavourable press, thus such changes are carefully recorded.
2. Changes to Supplier Details: These changes are likewise time-sensitive. If a supplier’s or manufacturing partner’s conditions change, the such changes be communicated immediately so that critical manufacturing and purchasing decisions may be taken. For example, if a manufacturing partner’s ISO 14001 accreditation expires, you might no longer wish to utilise them – this type of change is time-sensitive and must be precisely documented.
3. Operational Control and Process Adjustments: Operational control and process adjustments are critical for internal consistency and product/service quality. When modifications that affect the way a product or service is offered must be adopted, they must be both timely and correct. Details of the adjustments should be included in your statement of work or ISO 14001 documentation, and don’t forget that these must be appropriately communicated and acknowledged by your personnel to ensure the changes are understood, implemented correctly, and then repeated regularly. More information is available in the article Defining and implementing operational control in ISO 14001:2015.
4. Control of Records: As previously stated, any documents you have must be controlled and changed as needed, both for employee processing and reliability and to demonstrate under audit conditions that you have proper control over your documented information, as discussed in this post A new approach to documented information in ISO 14001:2015.

Controlling Change and Reaching Objectives

Because change is such an integral aspect of a modern company, regulating the change that affects your EMS can go a long way towards assisting you in meeting your objectives. Organizations that excel at organizational and process control go a long way towards achieving the EMS’s aims. Failure to do so can result in inconsistent products, unnecessary harmful environmental effects, and failure to comply with legislation, all of which can be costly both financially and in terms of reputation. Manage the change in your EMS to guarantee that your organization and the environment benefit.

List of Mandatory Documents required by ISO 14001 Environmental Management System

ISO 14001 is the international standard that specifies necessities for an effective environmental management system. It delivers a framework that an organization can follow, rather than establishing environmental performance requirements. ISO 14001 is a part of the ISO 14000 family of standards on environmental management, ISO 14001 is a standard that organizations can certify to integrating it with other management systems standards, most generally ISO 9001, can further assist in achieving organizational goals.

The International Organization for Standardization describes an environmental management system as part of the management system used to manage environmental features, fulfil compliance obligations, and address risks and opportunities. The framework in the ISO 14001 standard can be used within a plan-do-check-act method to constant improvement.

So, here is the list of requirements for documentation that essential to know below there is not only mandatory documents, but also the most generally used documents for ISO 14001 implementation.

Mandatory Documents:

Here are the ISO 14001 documents that need to produce if organization want to be compliant with Environmental Management System:

• Scope of the Environmental Management System.
• Environmental Policy.
• Risk and Opportunities to be addressed and procedures required.
• Conditions for evaluation of important environmental aspects.
• Environmental aspects with related environmental impacts.
• Important environmental aspects.
• Compliance obligations document.
• Environmental objectives and plans for accomplishing them.
• Operational control.
• Emergency preparedness and response.

Here are the mandatory records if organization want to be compliant with ISO 14001:

• Records of Training, Skills, Experience and Qualifications.
• Evidence of communication.
• Monitoring and Measurement results.
• Evidence of the obedience evaluation results.
• Internal audit program.
• Results of Internal audits.
• Results of the Management review.
• Results of corrective actions.

Non-Mandatory Documents:

There are many non-mandatory documents that can be used for ISO 14001 implementation. Although they are not mandatory, these non-mandatory documents to be most commonly used:

• Procedure for Determining Context of the Organization and Interested Parties.
• Procedure for Identification and Evaluation of Environmental Aspects and Risks.
• Capability, Training and Awareness procedure.
• Procedure for Communication.
• Procedure for Document and Record control.
• Procedure for Internal Audit.
• Procedure for Management Review.
• Procedure for Management of Nonconformities and Corrective actions.

ISO 14001 Documents – Requirements for Environmental Management System Certification

ISO 14001 is an internationally recognized standard that outlines how to put an operative environmental management system in place in organization. It is designed to help businesses remain commercially successful without overseeing environmental responsibilities and impacts. It can also help to produce sustainably while reducing the environmental impact of this growth.

ISO 14001 belongs to the ISO 14000 family of environmental management standards and provides the framework allow to meet increasingly high client expectations of corporate responsibility, as well as legal or supervisory requirements.

What are the Benefits of ISO 14001?

Certification to ISO 14001 allows to:

• Improved environmental management, decreases waste and energy use.
• Expand efficiency to cut the cost of running business.
• Establish compliance to expand business opportunities.
• Meet legal duties to win bigger stakeholder and customer trust.
• Prepare for the changing business landscape assuredly.
• Increase contact to new customers and business partners.
• Improve reputation.

Requirements of Documents for ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Certification:

These ISO 14001 documents should be organized in such a way so that defines entire implemented system well. A well-designed set of documents help organization to minimize the time and the cost involved in certification. The ISO 14001 documentation should contain effectively designed ISO 14001 Manual, procedures, exhibits, SOPs, etc.

• ISO 14001 Manual:

The ISO 14001 manual is a mandatory document for ISO 14001 certification as per environmental management system (EMS). ISO 14001 manual that meets the requirements, and defines the overall macro-level system with environmental policy, objectives, and scope.

• ISO 14001 Procedures:

Mandatory procedures cover all the clause requirements to follow while implementation of Environmental management system. These procedures help to implement an effective system in the company as per the rules of revised ISO 14001 requirements.

• ISO 14001 Exhibits:

ISO 29001 Exhibits are very useful tools that cover all the details for training to the user to implement the processes and get detail about exhibits covering Skill Requirements, Disposal of Non–conforming Products, Quality Plan etc. as per ISO 14001 standard. These are the documents that are required for documenting EMS objectives and targets. Environmental management system effective control plan is also given in the exhibits.

• ISO 14001 SOPs (Standard operating procedures):

ISO 14001 SOPs documents cover sample copy of work instructions to link with significant aspects issues in the organization. It takes care of all such issues and used as a training guide as well as to establish control and make system in the organization. ISO 14001 are available to establish control and make system in the organization. Standard operating procedures, environmental control procedures, and good work practices are required for effective EMS.