I prepared this summary of the ISO 14001:2004 requirements for my clients. See the actual standard for a complete description of the requirements.
4.1 General Requirements
- Establish, document, and implement environmental system
- Maintain and continually improve the environmental system
- Determine how system will meet requirements of standard
- Document scope of the environmental management system
4.2 Environmental Policy
- Define and document the environmental policy
- Ensure appropriate for activities, products, and services
- Commit to pollution prevention and continually improvement
- Include compliance with legal and other requirements
- Provide framework for environmental objectives and targets
- Communicate to all working for or on behalf of organization
- Make environmental policy available to public
4.3 Planning
4.3.1 Environmental Aspects
- Implement procedure to identify environmental aspects
- Identify aspects of activities, products, and services
- Include aspects within the defined scope of system
- Consider aspects that can control or can influence
- Take into account planned or new developments
- Determine aspects with significant impact on environment
- Document aspects and impacts and keep up to date
- Ensure significant aspects are taken into account in system
4.3.2 Legal and Other Requirements
- Implement procedure to identify and access legal requirements
- Determine how requirements apply to environmental aspects
- Ensure requirements are considered in environmental system
4.3.3 Objectives, Targets, and Programs
- Document environmental objectives and targets
- Establish measurable targets consistent with policy
- Commit to compliance with legal and other requirements
- Commit to pollution prevention and continually improvement
- Take into account legal requirements and significant aspects
- Consider technology options and views of interested parties
- Address financial, operational, and business requirements
- Implement a program to achieve objectives and targets
- Designate responsibility at relevant functions and levels
- Include means and timeframe for achieving the targets
4.4 Implementation and Operation
4.4.1 Resources, Roles, Responsibility, and Authority
- Ensure availability of resources for environmental system
- Include human resources and specialized skills
- Address infrastructure, technology, and finances
- Document and communicate responsibilities and authorities
- Appoint management representative with following duties
- Ensure system is maintained according to standard
- Report to top management on performance of system
- Include recommendations for improvement
4.4.2 Competence, Training, and Awareness
- Ensure persons with environmental tasks are competent
- Judge competency based on education, training, or experience
- Keep records of education, training, and experience
- Identify training needs based on system and aspects
- Provide training, or other actions, and keep records
- Implement procedure for awareness of following factors
- Stress importance of conformity to policies and procedures
- Point out significant aspects and actual or potential impacts
- Identify environmental benefits of improved personal performance
- Clarify roles and responsibilities for conformity to requirements
- Identify potential consequences of departure from procedures
4.4.3 Communication
- Implement procedure for internal communication
- Consider at relevant levels and functions of organization
- Implement procedure for external communication
- Consider receiving, documenting, and responding
- Decide if will communicate externally on significant aspects
- Document this decision on external communication
- Implement method for external communication, if needed
4.4.4 Documentation
- Document environmental policy, objectives, and targets
- Describe scope of environmental management system
- Describe main system elements and their interaction
- Refer to related documents for these main elements
- Include documents and records required by standard
- Include documentation needed for effective processes
4.4.5 Control of Documents
- Control documents needed for system or standard
- Implement procedure to control these documents
- Approve documents for adequacy prior to issue
- Review and update as necessary and re-approve
- Identify document changes and revision status
- Ensure documents are available at points of use
- Keep documents legible and readily identifiable
- Identify and control distribution of external documents
- Prevent unintended use of obsolete documents
- Apply suitable identification if documents retained
4.4.6 Operational Control
- Identify and plan operations with significant aspects
- Plan consistent with policy, objectives, and targets
- Ensure carried out under specified conditions
- Implement documented procedures as needed
- Use where their absence could lead to deviations
- Stipulate the operating criteria in the procedures
- Implement procedures related to environmental aspects
- Communicate procedures to suppliers and subcontractors
4.4.7 Emergency Preparedness and Response
- Identify potential emergencies and accidents
- Implement procedure on how to respond to them
- Respond to actual emergencies and accidents
- Prevent or mitigate adverse environmental impacts
- Review procedures periodically and revise as needed
- Test procedures periodically, where practical
4.5 Checking
4.5.1 Monitoring and Measurement
- Implement procedure to monitor and measure operations
- Monitor key characteristics that have significant impact
- Document data on performance, conformity, and controls
- Judge conformity to environmental objectives and targets
- Maintain and use calibrated or verified equipment
- Keep records of monitoring and measurement equipment
4.5.2 Evaluation of Compliance
4.5.2.1
- Evaluate compliance with legal requirements
- Implement procedure for periodic evaluations
- Keep records of results of periodic evaluations
4.5.2.2
- Evaluate compliance with other requirements
- Consider establishing a separate evaluation procedure
- Consider combining with evaluation of legal compliance
- Keep records of results of periodic evaluations
4.5.3 Nonconformity, Corrective Action, and Preventive Action
- Implement procedure for dealing with nonconformities
- Include procedure for corrective and preventive action
- Identify and correct nonconformities
- Take actions to mitigate environmental impacts
- Investigate nonconformities and determine causes
- Take actions to avoid their recurrence
- Evaluate need for actions to prevent nonconformities
- Implement actions to avoid their occurrence
- Record results of corrective and preventive actions
- Review effectiveness of the actions taken
- Act based on problem magnitude and environmental impact
- Ensure changes are made to system documentation
4.5.4 Control of Records
- Maintain records as evidence of conformity
- Use records to demonstrate achieved results
- Implement procedure for control of records
- Identify, store, and protect the records
- Keep legible, identifiable, and traceable
- Retrieve, retain, and dispose of records
4.5.5 Internal Audit
- Ensure internal audits are held at planned intervals
- Determine if system conforms to requirements
- Determine if system implemented and maintained
- Plan audit program based on areas and prior audits
- Implement procedure that addresses responsibilities
- Cover planning, conducting, reporting, and recording
- Determine criteria, scope, frequency, and methods
- Ensure auditors and audits are impartial and objective
4.6 Management Review
- Review environmental system at planned intervals
- Ensure its suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness
- Include assessment of improvement opportunities
- Assess need for system changes, including targets
- Include results of audits and compliance evaluations
- Cover external communications and any complaints
- Examine environmental performance of organization
- Include the extent to which targets have been met
- Review status of corrective and preventive actions
- Address follow-up actions from previous reviews
- Consider changing circumstances related to aspects
- Evaluate recommendations for improvement
- Keep records of management reviews
- Include decisions and actions in records