The revised ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard was released in September 2015. ISO is the International Organisation for Standardisation (external link) responsible for the ISO 14000, ISO 9000 and other international management standards. There are a number of significant changes in the new standard, however, it is still aligned with the broad Plan-Do-Check-Act management approach.
Organisations now need to have their EMS certified to the new ISO 14001:2015 standard. Organisations with a certified ISO 14001:2004 EMS will have three years to transition to the new standard, to maintain their certification.
All environmental auditors certified by Exemplar Global are required to update their certification through an internationally recognised assessment to the ISO 14001:2015 standard. Certified environmental auditors must demonstrate transition adequacy by completing the International Association of Accredited Registrars (IAAR) transition assessment. The ISO 14001:2015 transition assessment must be completed by 1 February 2016 or auditors will need to complete the full auditing course on the new standard.
Tiffaney George, MBS’s principal environmental auditor, has successfully completed the transition assessment and upgraded her audit qualifications to the new ISO 14001:2015 standard. Please contact Tiffaney on 08 9226 3166 or via tgeorge(at)mbsenvironmental.com.au if you would like advice on how these changes may affect your organisation.