ISO 14001 provides companies with guidelines toward which a company can orientate itself when designing its environmental management system. Instead of venturing to attempt the implementation of the EMS system on its own, the company can rely on the internationally established standard. However, the guidelines also provide the opportunity for certification. With a certificate that proves adherence to the norm, one can show their commitment to environmental protection at the international level.
An ISO 14001 certification can be obtained from an independent verification authority. These exist in the form of private companies, but also as associations. Before you commission a certifier, you must align your environmental management system with ISO 14001, or even first install an EMS in your company. This is then checked in an (optional) internal audit for conformity with the standard. In doing so, you can simulate the actual audit via an independent third party, note possible errors and then eliminate these in advance. Many companies call in a third party for this step. They can not only look at the system objectively from the outside, but also provide valuable tips for improvement based on their experience.
The actual audit begins with a documentation review: ISO 14001 requires in many areas a thorough documentation. Environmental policies and environmental objectives, measurement methods, role allocation or the business concept are recorded in writing and presented to the certifier. The inspecting authority then checks if the company has fulfilled its documentation obligation and if the procedures described in the documents are compliant with the specifications.
Should the certifier notice smaller flaws during the audit, the company can correct these during a second step. However, should they notice serious errors, the certification process will immediately be terminated. If you pass the document review, the inspection’s second step occurs on-site. Here the auditor speaks with employees and examines the effectiveness of the EMS. In addition, review of the documentation takes place again, but this time it is more detailed. If one passes this step as well, they receive the desired seal.
However, the certificate is only valid for three years. Within this time period an annual surveillance audit takes place, though it is far less comprehensive than the first audit. After three years have passed, however, the certification process starts over again. Both audit steps must then be gone through again.
An ISO 14001 certification brings many advantages; however, it is also time and cost intensive. This doesn’t only begin with certifier costs. First of all, you must implement an appropriate environmental management system within your company. The planning work that is necessary for this most likely cannot be achieved by responsible employees alongside their original responsibilities. This is why during planning you should calculate using less in-house manpower. The partly-required documentation that must be prepared also ties up resources. How high the internal costs are is strongly dependent on existing structures within the company.
Finally, there are also costs for the audit itself. Here, certification authorities are guided by the specifications of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). The costs are therefore not dependent on the company size and industry in which the business operates. Both factors affect the certification authority’s expenses. To save costs, different management systems can sometimes be certified at the same time: ISO 9001 (quality management), ISO 31000 (risk management) and ISO 50001 (energy management), for example, are very ideal for implementing together.