8/9/2014 ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard in Plain English

ISO 14001 is an environmental management standard. It specifies a

set of environmental management requirements for environmental
management systems. The purpose of this standard is to help all
types of organizations to protect the environment, to prevent
pollution, and to improve their environmental performance.

This page presents an overview of ISO 14001. It doesn't provide detail.

ISO 14001 2004 presents environmental management requirements in
section 4. Therefore, the following material begins with section 4.1.

4.1 Systemic Establish an environmental management system

requirements that complies with the ISO 14001 2004 standard.

Document your environmental management

system in accordance with the standard.

Implement your environmental management

system in accordance with the standard.

Maintain your environmental management

system in accordance with the standard.

Improve your environmental management

system in accordance with the standard.

4.2 P olicy Establish your organizations environmental policy.

requirements
Define your organizations environmental policy.

Document your organizations environmental policy.

Implement your organizations environmental policy.

Maintain your organizations environmental policy.

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Communicate your organizations environmental policy.

4.3 Planning 4.3.1 Identify your environmental aspects.

requirements
Establish procedures to identify the environmental
aspects of your activities, products, and services.

Implement procedures to identify the environmental

aspects of your activities, products, and services.

Document the environmental aspects of your

aspects of your activities, products, and services.

Maintain procedures to identify the environmental

aspects of your activities, products, and services.

4.3.2 Clarify legal and other requirements.

Establish procedures to identify and clarify

the legal and other requirements that apply
to your organizations environmental aspects.

Implement procedures to identify and

clarify the legal and other requirements
that apply to your environmental aspects.

M aintain procedures to identify and

clarify the legal and other requirements
that apply to your environmental aspects.

4.3.3 Establish objectives and programs.

Establish environmental objectives and targets.

Implement environmental objectives and targets.

Maintain environmental objectives and targets.

Establish programs to achieve your organization's

environmental objectives and targets.

Implement programs to achieve your

environmental objectives and targets.

Maintain programs to achieve your

environmental objectives and targets.

4.4 Operational
4.4.1 Provide resources and establish jobs.
requirements
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Provide the resources needed to support your

organizations environmental management system.

Provide the resources needed to establish

your environmental management system.

Provide the resources needed to implement

your environmental management system.

Provide the resources needed to maintain

your environmental management system.

Provide the resources needed to improve

your environmental management system.

Establish environmental management

roles, responsibilities, and authorities.

Define your environmental management

roles, responsibilities, and authorities.

Document your environmental management

roles, responsibilities, and authorities.

Communicate your environmental management

roles, responsibilities, and authorities.

Appoint someone to assume the role

of management representative.

4.4.2 Deliver training and awareness programs.

Make sure that people, who perform tasks that could potentially
have a significant environmental impact, are in fact competent.

Establish your environmental training programs.

Identify your organizations

environmental training needs.

Deliver training programs that meet

your environmental training needs.

Maintain a record of your organizations

environmental training activities.

Establish a procedure to make people aware

of your environmental management system.

Implement your environmental awareness procedure.

Maintain your environmental awareness procedure.

4.4.3 Establish communication procedures.

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Establish a procedure to control your organizations

internal e nvironme nta l communica tions.

Implement your organizations internal

environmental communications procedure.

Maintain your organizations internal

environmental communications procedure.

Establish a procedure to control your organizations

external e nvironme nta l communica tions.

Implement your organizations external

environmental communications procedure.

Maintain your organizations external

environmental communications procedure.

4.4.4 Document your environmental management system.

Document your organizations environmental policy.

Document your organizations environmental objectives.

Document your organizations environmental targets.

Document the scope of environmental management system.

Document the main parts of environmental management system.

Describe how the parts of your organization's

environmental management system interact.

4.4.5 Control environmental management documents.

Control documents required

by the ISO 14001 2004 standard.

Control documents required by your

environmental management system.

Control your environmental

management system records.

4.4.6 Control environmentally significant operations.

Identify those operations that are associated with your

organizations significant environmental aspects.

Establish procedures to manage and control operational

situations that could have significant environmental impacts.

Document your environmental

operational control procedures.
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Implement your environmental

operational control procedures.

Maintain your environmental

operational control procedures.

Establish procedures to control the significant

environmental aspects of the goods and services
provided by your suppliers and contractors.

Implement your environmental supplier

and contractor control procedures.

Maintain your environmental supplier

and contractor control procedures.

4.4.7 Establish an emergency management process.

Prepare for emergency situations and accidents that

could have a significant impact on the environment.

Establish procedures to identify potential emergency situations

and accidents that could have an impact on the environment.

Implement procedures to identify potential emergency

situations and accidents that could have an impact.

Maintain procedures to identify potential emergency

situations and accidents that could have an impact
on the environment.

Establish procedures to respond to actual emergency situations

and accidents that have an impact on the environment.

Implement procedures to respond to actual emergency

situations and accidents that have an impact.

Maintain procedures to respond to actual emergency

situations and accidents that have an impact on the
environment.

Test your environmental emergency response procedures.

Respond to actual environmental emergencies and accidents.

Prevent or mitigate the adverse environmental impacts

that emergencies and accidents can and do cause.

Review and revise your environmental emergency

preparedness and response procedures.

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4.5 Checking 4.5.1 Establish monitoring and measurement capabilities.

requirements
Establish procedures to monitor and measure
the operational characteristics that could have
a significant impact on the environment.

Implement your organization's environmental

monitoring and measuring procedures.

Maintain your organization's environmental

monitoring and measuring procedures.

Use calibrated or verified environmental

monitoring and measuring equipment.

Maintain your organizations environmental

monitoring and measuring equipment.

Keep a record of your environmental

monitoring and measuring activities.

4.5.2 Evaluate legal and other compliance.

4.5.2.1 Evaluate compliance with legal requirements.

Establish a procedure to periodically evaluate

how well your organization complies with all
relevant legal environmental requirements.

Implement a proce dure to pe riodica lly e va lua te

how w e ll your organization complies with all
relevantlegal environmental requirements.

M aintain a proce dure to pe riodica lly e va lua te

how w e ll your organization complies with all
relevant legal environmental requirements.

Record the results of your organization's

legal environmental compliance evaluations.

4.5.2.2 Evaluate compliance with other requirements.

Establish a procedure to periodically evaluate how well your

organization complies with other environmental requirements.

Implement a procedure to periodically evaluate

how well your organization complies with other
environmental requirements.

Maintain a procedure to periodically evaluate

how well your organization complies with other
environmental requirements.

Record the results of your organization's other

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environmental compliance evaluations.

4.5.3 Deal with your nonconformities.

Establish nonconformance management procedures.

Implement nonconformance management procedures.

Maintain nonconformance management procedures.

Change documents when nonconformities make it necessary.

4.5.4 Control your environmental records.

Establish environmental records for your organization.

Establish procedures to control your environmental records.

Implement procedures to control environmental records.

Maintain procedures to control environmental records.

4.5.5 Perform internal environmental management audits.

Plan the development of an internal

environmental management audit program.

Establish your environmental management audit program.

Implement your internal environmental

management audit program.

Maintain your internal environmental

management audit program.

Establish an environmental management audit procedure.

Implement your internal environmental

management audit procedure.

Maintain your internal environmental

management audit procedure.

Conduct internal audits of environmental

management system.

Report internal audit results to your

organizations management.

4 .6 R e v ie w Perform environmental management reviews.

requirements
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Review the suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness

of your environmental management system.

Assess opportunities for improvement.

Assess whether or not your environmental
management system should be changed.

Assess whether or not your organizations

environmental policy should be changed.

Assess whether or not your organizations

environmental objectives should be changed.

Assess whether or not your organizations

environmental targets should be changed.

Keep a record of your environmental reviews.

This page summarizes ISO 14001. It highlights the main points. It does
not present detail. To get the complete plain English standard, please
purchase our Title 50: ISO 14001 2004 Translated into Plain English.

Title 50 is detailed, accurate, and complete. It uses language that

is clear, precise, and easy to understand. We guarantee it!

Title 50 can be delivered to you on CD or as an email attachment.

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MORE ISO 14000 PAGES

Introduction to the Standard

ISO 14001 2004 versus ISO 14001 1996
Overview of Environmental Management Standard

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8/9/2014 ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard in Plain English

Plain English Environmental Management Definitions

How to Establish an Environmental Management System
Environmental Management Gap Analysis Tool
Environmental Management Audit Program
Our Plain English Approach

OTHER PLAIN ENGLISH STANDARDS

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Updated on December 1, 2013. First published on March 11, 2005.

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