Within the standard there are 17 elements of ISO 14001 that are required to be met by organisations seeking formal recognition for their EMS. ISO 14001 requirements are as follows:
An environmental policy supported by senior management;
The identification of environmental aspects and impacts, and the identification of significant environmental impacts that the organisation may cause;
Identification of environmental compliance requirements;
The development of objectives and targets, and their environmental management programs;
Defined resources, roles, responsibilities and authorities for environmental management;
The development of competence, training and awareness procedures;
A communication process of the EMS to all stakeholders and interested parties;
The development of EMS documentation as required by the standard;
The development of document control procedures;
The development of operational control procedures;
The development of emergency preparedness and response procedures;
The development of procedures to monitor and measure operations that can have significant impact to the environment;
An evaluation of compliance procedure;
Procedures developed for the management of non-conformance, corrective and preventative actions;>
The development of a records management procedure;
A program for completing internal EMS audits and corrective actions; and
The development of procedures for management review by senior management.
The standard can be easily integrated into existing safety (AS/NZS 4801 or OHSAS18001) and quality (AS/NZS ISO 9001) management systems.
By design the EMS and environmental performance run in a continuous improvement cycle outlined in the diagram below.
http://www.iso14001.com.au/iso-14001-requirements.html
