Overview of ISO 14000 Standards

ISO 14000 series is voluntary and based on international consensus as 65 countries are participating in the standards development process. The ISO 14001standards are generic, i.e. applicable to both manufacturing and service organization, in public and private sectors. They say what should be done by an organization to manage the impact on the environment of its activities, but do not dictate how to do it. Thus ISO 14001 EMS has impact on the issues listed below.

Following issues for Industry are  considered

• Air Pollution
• Water Pollution
• Water use
• Other Resource Use
• Hazardous Substances
• Biological Hazards
• Radiation
• Waste
• Noise
• Community Concerns
• Wildlife & Habitats
• Accidents & emergencies
• Planning Issues 
• Interface with other Health & Safety Issues

ISO 14000 series of standards can be classified as the specification standard and guidance standard. ISO 14001 is the only specification standard to which companies would be registered. All other standards mentioned in the Table-1 are guidance standards and so are not prescriptive.

The overall aim of this international standard is to support environmental protection and prevention of pollution in balance with socio - economic needs. However, it is not intended to be used to create non-tariff trade barriers or to increase or change an organization's legal obligations.
   
This international standard does not incorporate occupational health and safety management system elements. Nevertheless, the certification / registration process will only be applicable to aspects of the environmental management system. The company has to take ISO 14001 training and make targets related to environment issues for long run and achievement for the same. Also provisions for emergency so that environment is no where affected by the company. The elements of  ISO 14000 are listed below.

ISO 14001 Environment Management System - EMS

The ISO 14001 Specification envisages 5 Core Elements for EMS, for the purpose of certification by third parties. These are:
   
1. Commitments and Policy
An organization should define its environmental policy and focus on what needs to be done for ensuring continual environmental performance. It should also ensure commitment to the policy.

2. Planning
An Organization should formulate a plan to fulfill its environmental policy.

3. Implementation
For effective implementation an Organization should develop the capabilities and support mechanisms necessary to achieve its environmental policy, objectives and targets.

4. Measurements and Evaluation
An organization should measure, monitor and evaluate its environmental performance.

5. Reviews and Improvement
An organization should review and continually improve its environmental management system, with the objective of improving its overall environmental performance.


Source: Globalmanagergroup.com
You can read my other post about Benefits of ISO 14001 EMS here.