Aegis Regulatory Alert
CHANGES TO ISO 14001 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS CRITERIA
What’s New. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) issued a joint statement in February 2024 regarding climate action amendments to multiple ISO management systems standards, including ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems.
The ISO 14001:2015 amendment is published as Amendment 1:2024 and adds climate change requirements to the following clauses:
- 4.1 Understanding the organization and its context: “The organization shall determine whether climate change is a relevant issue.”
- 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties: “NOTE Relevant interested parties can have requirements related to climate change.”
Why it matters.
- This amendment will require companies with ISO 14001-certified management systems to evaluate climate change as part of its context, including internal/external issues and interested parties.
- Any documentation related to these evaluations will need to be reviewed and updated.
- If it is determined that climate is a relevant issue, other elements of the management system may need to be updated such as compliance obligations and objectives.
What's next: A second amendment to ISO 14001:2015 is under development.
The Aegis team can help with reviews and updates to your environmental management systems and assist with the ISO 14001 process. Please contact Donna Bausch at dbausch@aegisenv.com to discuss your need