Explaining ISO 14001:2015 Clause 4.4 Environmental Management System
In this video I’m going to cover clause 4.4 Environmental management system. I’m going to break this clause down and turn it into something you can all understand. You’ll then be able to apply this to your own organization's system and understand what the requirements will look like for you. No more guessing!
Clause 4.4 is called Environmental management system. There are a few different elements to this clause so I will break it down into smaller chunks and explain each part as I go.
The first section to be aware of is where it states initially that To achieve the intended outcomes, including enhancing its environmental performance, the organization shall establish, implement, maintain and continually improve an environmental management system including the processes needed and their interactions, in accordance with the requirements of this International Standard.
The reference to ‘this international standard’ of course means ISO 14001.
The requirement here is that you/the business simply establish the environmental management system and all of the associated processes, which could be documented or not, that are needed to meet the requirements of this standard and that it is up to the organization – you/the business to determine what these processes are and how they are applied within the business. That’s why I always say with this clause – if you are meeting all of the other clause requirements in the standard then you should be meeting this one.
Now, there is one word in here that does stand out and is important to understand – that word is ‘interactions’. This clause mentions ‘the processes needed and their interactions’. When I see that word I instantly think of the process approach, which I know is more of an approach referred to in ISO 9001 Quality, but when it comes to systems the process approach is universal. Understanding this Process Approach further, particularly for an ISO 14001 system integration of the environmental system into the standard business processes is a MUST.
When you develop the required processes for your environmental system, they are not something that sits in the corner and is separated from the rest of the business and its processes or people. The environmental system is to be integrated with the business processes and become the standard way that anything to do with environmental processes is completed. You want your system to be so integrated into your business that your workers don’t even realize that they are doing this “ENVIRO/GREENY STUFF”. Make it just part of their day and the way things are done – standard.
This clause then finally states that The organization shall consider the knowledge gained in 4.1 and 4.2 when establishing and maintaining the environmental management system.
I LOVE this! It really shows that when we do something as a result of the requirements of this standard that they integrate or influence other areas. Nothing we do is standalone, it all works together to build this amazing integrated system.
To finish off, my big tip for meeting the requirements of this clause are:
- - Make sure you develop processes as required throughout the Standard first.
- Document what firstly is a requirement to document and then decide on what else would be beneficial to document so that you have a degree of control and consistency.
- When you create these processes and documents make sure they are integrated and embedded throughout the business.
