What will change in the upcoming update of ISO 14001?

[nljong25]

Hi there,

I understand that there's a update of ISO 14001 upcoming.
Does anybody know what the major changes will be?

Jeroen

 

[Randy]

The revision is still being worked on. There will be some grammer changes and maybe more emphasis on regulatory compliance. It's still up in the air.

Go to the ISO home page and check out what TC-207 is doing.

 

[Bruce Wade]

Rumor is, the revision will look alot more like EMAS, be numbered more like ISO 9001:2000, for easier inclusion in combined systems, and require much more responsiveness to interested third parties.

ISO 14001:1996 requires the organization only "consider" communication with interested third parties, and to document this decision. It is within the standard to "consider" and decide not to communicate environmental issues, such as aspects and impacts, with interested third parties other than regulatory and legal authorities. Rumor is, like EMAS, the revision will not allow "consideration" and decision not to communicate...

 

[rak]

I agree with Randy, looks like there will be more emphasis on compliance

 

[nljong25]

I received a copy of 14001/CD this morning in PDF-format. I will check the differences. I first have to translate it to dutch. :-\

 

[Serge Daiman]

Hi all,
Randy is right. The revision is more of a grammar improvement, with main discussion going about which phrase should be put into bullets and which bullet list should be converted into a phrase. A few more explanatory paras, or sometimes text is rewritten to be (hopefully) more specific. No additional requirements I have noticed, except maybe for legal comliance -- not what you'd expect, but "an organization shall establish and maintain (a) procedure(s) for periodically evaluating compliance with applicable environmental legislation and regulations to meet the organization’s commitment to compliance".
Best regards,
Sergey