ISO 14001 CERTIFICATION
What is ISO 14001 standard?
ISO 14001 stands for a regulatory reference which certifies an organization’s environmental management system.
The ISO 14001 standard can be applied to any type of company, regardless its field of activity or size.
What is the purpose of ISO 14001 standard?
ISO 14001 standard is built on 10 sections, designed to manage all the aspects of the company life and to lead the organization’s processes to the implementation of the environmental management system.
Hence, it offers an added value in providing the specific guidance for the organizations in order to foster the balance between the business activity and the environmental impact.
By developing an environmental management system it is possible to select production and service delivery systems that optimise the resource use and are meant to be sustainable. The production and its effects on the environment may be assessed from the product life cycle.
Adopting an environmentally friendly policy will be a valuable choice for the organizations in future.
The governments’ decisions about the environment protection need to be taken considering the role of the economic sector. Nowadays, end-users are seeking those companies that have adopted a corporate social responsability policy.
Is ISO 14001 certification mandatory?
The adoption of an environmental management system is voluntary for the companies.
However, the ISO 14001 certification may help the company meet the requirements for EMAS registration.
Why obtain ISO 14001 certification?
By following the guidelines of ISO 14001 standard, the organization will be able:
- To use raw materials in a rational and efficient way, in order to reduce the production scrap;
- To ensure the legal compliance of the company’s environmental processes;
- To control the environmental impact of company’s life cycle on a long-term basis;
- To get a 20% reduction for insurance policy required in tenders and during the contract execution;
- To achieve a better position in tenders
How to get ISO 14001 certification?
The certification path consists of 4 stages
Certification Request
All the economic aspects and the auditors’ activities related to the certification process may be agreed at this stage. The finalization of a contract concludes this part. Indeed the process for certification depends on the contract stipulated between the company and the certification body.
Generally, it is valid for three years.
Preliminary Audit (optional and possibly requested by the customer)
It is an initial assessment of the current company’s management system.
The preliminary audit is not involved in the normal process for certification and any possible improvement thus is intended to be nothing but a suggestion and it is not included in the official audit report.
Certification Audit – Stage 1
The audit is held in the company office. In this stage, the auditor gathers all the informations and evaluates the documents referring to the management system that must be certified. The auditor analyses the compulsory and voluntary standards. This is a preparatory step for the second stage of the Certification Audit.
Certification Audit – Stage 2
In this stage, the auditor will ascertain that the company complies with the management system. At the end of this process, the auditor will submit the ISO issue request to the certification body, if a significant nonconformity does not occur.