Around 15,000 companies in the UK and 300,000 organisations worldwide are facing tougher compliance requirements under the revamped ISO 14001 EMS. The new version came into force in 2015 and businesses have until 2018 to comply. It has been updated to simplify integration when implementing more than one management system and to ensure it is relevant in years to come. But experts have warned that it also makes it tougher for companies to comply with.
How can The Planet Mark™help?
The Planet Mark™ supports businesses seeking to comply with the new ISO14001 by:
Setting Targets
The Planet Mark™ requires at least a 2.5% reduction per year. We set a 5% reduction target for most businesses, however you can choose the targets which meet your own objectives. Once your targets are set we measure and monitor through our unique online platform. We monitor scopes 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions. This includes energy, waste, water and travel.
Continuous improvement
As well as The Planet Mark™ Certificate, you'll receive a Report which provides recommendations for improvement and evidence of continuous improvement of environmental performance on a year-by-year basis. The Certification is renewed annually upon successful achievement of the previous year’s targets, thereby instilling a strong ethos of continuous improvement into a business.
Governance
Our senior management team and leadership workshops help gain support and understanding from the top. We can also assist in developing a Sustainability Policy, a key requirement of many EMS standards.
Communication & stakeholder engagement
The Planet Mark™ is designed to communicate sustainability to audiences internally and externally to your organisation. The Certification works alongside your brand, and we provide marketing materials to facilitate this, as well as additional services to support bid and sales teams.
The Planet Mark™ can be awarded instead of ISO14001
The Planet Mark™ is a trusted and internationally recognised certification that empowers organisations to make year-on-year improvement in sustainability. It is a low resource and easy to implement programme that is proven to work. On average, Planet Mark-certified businesses are reducing their carbon footprint by 10% per employee per annum.
To find out more download The Planet Mark™ leaflet.
So what are the main changes to the new standard?
• Leadership – The new version requires greater involvement from top management to ensure the EMS is more strategic and integrated into the organisation’s decision-making
• Strategic context – The new standard requires organisations to consider not only the environmental impacts that they can control, but those that they can influence and that may impact upon them
• Risks and opportunities – There is a specific requirement to demonstrate how significant environmental risks and opportunities are managed within the supply chain
• Reporting – The revision put greater emphasis on the need for external reporting on environmental issues and for the organisation to demonstrate much greater control on how it uses and manages environmental data
• Continual improvement – There is a stronger emphasis on the requirement for continual improvement, with a specific clause in place, in line with the policy set by top management, so there should be less room for misinterpretation
• Communication & stakeholder engagement – The new version placed a much greater emphasis on understanding and responding to the needs and expectations of stakeholders and how to communicate effectively with them