Sustainability is a growing concern across all industries, and the ISO 14001 Environmental Management standards provide a widely recognized international method for improving business standards in this area. To manage your ISO standards and internal audits, you will surely be looking for a software solution.
The purpose and criteria of ISO 14001
The standard ISO 14001 maps out the criteria for an environmental management system. It defines a framework that any organization, regardless of its activity or sector, can follow to set up an effective environmental management system. his helps drive environmental performance and manage risk in the short and long-term, through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste. Beyond simply documenting policy, the standard also emphasizes the participation of all staff and stakeholders.
ISO 14001 checklists
Organizations that choose to follow an ISO14000 management system will have to ensure compliance with a certain number of requirements. A well-designed checklist will be a simple and effective tool for environmental, health, and safety (EHS) managers stay on top of compliance requirements. The checks will include some of the following requirements:
- Documenting and communication the environmental policy, with targets and objectives to reduce pollution and comply with regulatory obligations
- Procedure to identify environmental impacts of the company’s activities
- Covering environmental aspects like air emissions; wastewater effluents; waste management; soil pollution; raw material and natural resource usage; hazardous and toxic material management; impact on wellbeing (e.g. noise, smell, heat, landscape, protection); utility, energy and resources; other environmental specific issues on site such as housekeeping, storage, areas, piping
- Considering normal operating conditions as well as exceptional conditions (maintenance, closure…) and emergency/accidents
- Considering indirect aspects such as suppliers, subcontractors, transport, product impacts
- Identifying all applicable legal and regulatory requirements, agreements and contracts, including maintaining all relevant permits and approvals
- Objectives and targets documented as applicable to all business areas, with timelines, an environmental performance evaluation system and responsibilities assigned across the organization
- Training and awareness for all relevant personnel
- Communication of environmental issues between various levels of the organization and external parties
- Operational control procedures, Emergency preparedness and response
- Monitoring and measurement, Evaluation of compliance
- Nonconformity, corrective action and preventive action
- Keeping records and having an internal auditing procedure with correct scope, frequency, methods and responsibilities
- Assiduous management review of the environmental management system policy and procedures
Internal audits for ISO 14001 criteria
Accredited certification to ISO 14001 is not a requirement, and organizations can reap many of the benefits from using the standard without going through the accredited certification process. While getting inspected and certified by an external auditor is not mandatory, internal self-audits will be a necessary step to check and prove due diligence to any third-parties, including external auditors.
Software for implementing ISO14000 internal audits
Paper-based audits can be burdensome and time-consuming. Using excel, goodle sheets and other ad-hoc solutions also quickly gets out of hand, especially when it involves more than one person. Digital internal audits will help the EHS manager keep track of all the requirements, as well as involve other stakeholders.
Finding the right software or app will greatly simplify this task. While many ISO compliance software can be complex and costly, it doesn’t have to be. A mobile auditing app like GoAudits is an accessible and affordable solution, used by Enterprise organizations as well as small businesses.
ISO Auditing App for Environmental Management Systems
GoAudits is a powerful platform with a mobile app that allows you to conduct checks and collect data in a simple paperless way, also giving you the tools to analyze and leverage the data for further improvements.
- Easily create digital ISO audit checklists (or let us do it for you, for free!). Leverage pre-loaded templates from our library and customize to your organization
- Empower your teams to conduct efficient monitoring procedures and analysis using a smartphone, tablet or computer
- Save many hours with instantly generated reports that can be automatically shared with the right people
- Create and assign corrective actions whenever a non-conformance is found
- With all information securely stored online, you can get unprecedented insights with dynamic dashboards: performance by location or topic, over time, comparisons etc
- Affordable solution starting at $10 per month only
Get in touch for a free onboarding & trial, or a short demo call to get the ball rolling. Looking forward to hearing from you!