Introduction
In this article I am going to cover the international environmental management system (EMS) standard ISO 14001:2026. This will include the content of the standard, the benefits of achieving ISO 14001 certification and the process required to gain certification and maintain it.
What is ISO 14001?
ISO 14001:2026 is an environmental management system standard. In a nutshell it provides a recognised and systematic means of controlling an organisation’s impacts on the environment. The standard is voluntary, such that organisations decide whether or not to gain certification of their EMS. The standard provides an internally recognised approach to managing environmental risks.
Updates to the standard – ISO 14001:2026
The standard has undergone three revisions since its introduction in 1996. The latest version is in 2026. This resulted in mostly minor changes to the standard that reduce subjectivity such as the strengthening of leadership accountability and an increase in oversight across the value chain. A new sub clause has been added such that changes that impact the EMS are planned.
What is ISO 14001 certification?
As an organisation once you have set up an EMS that you feel aligns with the ISO 14001 standard there is the option to gain external certification. Certification is undertaken by external third parties known as ‘certification bodies’; examples include BSI, LRQA , TUV and BM Trada. Certification bodies will check the EMS against the ISO 14001 standard and if it complies will issue a certificate which will require renewal every three years. Certification bodies in turn can gain accreditation to a recognised ‘accreditation body’ that will check its performance in delivering ISO 14001 certification services. Accreditation bodies are country specific with example including UKAS, ANAB etc. There is no legal requirement for a certification body to be accredited but it will often hold more weight with stakeholders if an organisation is certified by an accredited certification body.
The cost of certification varies with regards to factors such as the chosen certification body, geographical spread and the size and complexity of the organisation being certified.
Benefits of having ISO 14001 certification
Although operating an ISO 14001 certified EMS is voluntary organisation will develop them as there are many potential benefits in doing so. These include:
Improvements in legal compliance
An organisation is required to identify relevant environmental legislation and other compliance obligations. Controls are required to ensure compliance. A mechanism must be developed to evaluate compliance. The risk of gaining fines and penalties for non-compliance, is also minimised.
• Competitive edge over non-certified businesses.
Organisations will often require that their suppliers make a commitment to improving environmental performance. A certified management system provides a recognised means of this.
• Increased management of environmental risk.
There are many elements of ISO 14001 that cover risk management. One example being the requirements to develop and aspects and impacts register that covers the key environmental risk of the organisation. Controls must also be implemented to manage significant environmental risks.
Increased credibility that comes from independent assessment.
While it is not a requirement of the standard to undergo external certification, there are significant advantages, as the organisation potentially gains considerably increased credibility in the marketplace.
• Savings from reduction in resource use, waste and energy
ISO 14001 compliant EMSs often involve the reduction of resource use, energy and waste significantly reducing costs for an organisation.
• Increase the value of a business
Add to the overall business value if an organisation is committed to increasing environmental performance.
• Increased resource productivity.
It has been shown that those companies with certified management systems are also some of the best performing companies in the marketplace, as these are also the better managed companies.
How to get ISO 14001 certification for your organisation
Requirements for ISO 14001 certification
The standard is based around a specific plan-do-check-act continual improvement approach, a simple but highly effective mechanism to bring about continual improvement in environmental management.
For ISO 14001 this is implemented as 7 key clauses (the first three clauses covering background information such as definitions and scope that are not certified):
4. Context of the Organisation
An organisation must understand all internal and external issues that may affect or be affected by the organisation.
The scope of the EMS must be decided and documented.
5. Leadership
Top management must demonstrate leadership. Roles and responsibilities should be assigned and an environmental policy produced that complies with the standard.
6. Planning
Key requirements are the identification and prioritisation of environmental risks. The organisation must also set objectives and understand its compliance obligations.
7. Support
Resources must be made available to develop and operate the EMS. Requirements are also stated for competency, communication and documented information.
8. Operation
Consistent with a life-cycle perspective the organisation must develop operational controls. Emergency plans must also be developed and tested where appropriate.
9. Performance Evaluation
Compliant organisations are required to monitor, measure, analyse and evaluate environmental performance.
An internal audit programme must also be developed and implemented. Top management must also review the EMS at suitable intervals.
10. Improvement
The cause of non-conformances must be eliminated. Non-conformances should be prevented from reoccurring.
Preparation and implementation of ISO 14001 certification
When preparing for an ISO 14001 certification audit it is imperative to conduct a gap analysis of the organisation’s EMS. This is undertaken by comparing the standard against the organisation’s EMS and identifying areas that do not conform with it. These ‘gaps’ can then be filled by developing or amending missing EMS components. Once an organisation is satisfied that the EMS is compliant the organisation can contract a certification body to externally audit the system.
The ISO 14001 standard is not prescriptive, it consists of general requirements that cover management of environmental issues in the workplace. Emission limits, waste reduction targets and energy use limits etc are therefore not provided explicitly in the standard. There is therefore a significant amount of flexibility in the development of an EMS to meet the organisations needs as long as it complies with the fairly generic clauses in the standard.
As we mentioned earlier ISO 14001 is based on the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) model as such ISO 14001 shares similarities to other business management standards such as ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 45001 for health and safety management. In fact, many organisations often develop a single integrated management system that is certified to all three standards. For example, policies, procedures, internal audits and records can easily be integrated to comply with all three standards.
It is rare that organisations fail to gain ISO 14001 certification, but if this does happen, they can make relevant changes to the EMS and reapply for certification when ready.
Ongoing requirements to stay ISO 14001 compliant
Once an organisation gains certification to the standard, surveillance audits, often every year, are undertaken to ensure the EMSs continuing compliance. After a three year period a certificate renewal audit is undertaken. This consists of an in-depth audit of the whole system. Once this audit is successfully completed the certificate will expire three years after. When developing and maintaining an ISO 14001 compliant EMS competency is key for various job roles, training plays a significant part in obtaining the required competence for those who develop, maintain and audit EMS systems.
Conclusion
The ISO 14001:2026 standard provides a voluntary recognised approach to managing an organisation’s environmental impacts. The standard was updated in 2026, although the updates were relatively minor a new sub clause related to change management was added.
There are many benefits of operating an ISO 14001 compliant EMS such as improved compliance with legal requirements, cost savings, and improved management of environmental risk etc.
There are 7 key clauses of the ISO 14001 standard; these are the context of the organisation, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation and improvement. An organisation may prepare for an ISO 14001 certification audit by undertaking a gap analysis. The standard can be applied to integrated management systems that often combine environmental, quality and health and safety issues.
Many courses cover the requirements of the ISO 14001 standard.
John Binns BSc (Hons), MSc, MISEP (formerly IEMA)
John Binns BSc (Hons) MSc MISEP (formerly IEMA) is an experienced environmental tutor and consultant
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