AvISO is an industry-leading expert in ISO 14001 and Environmental Management Systems. With offices in London, Kent, and Ireland, we provide global Consultancy, training & Software solutions to support sole traders to multi-national organisations to ensure they achieve the most from their UKAS Accredited Certification to ISO 14001:2015.

• ISO 14001:2015 is the internationally recognised standard that specifies the requirements for an environmental management system (EMS), which can be integrated into your existing management system. Its purpose is to ensure your Organisation's plans, policies, and procedures: minimise environmental harm, maximise efficiency and adhere to legal & regulatory obligations. The standards, guidelines and frameworks can be tailored to all sectors and sizes of businesses committed to operating more sustainably.

With climate change impacting all aspects of our global society, there is a growing need to act. Businesses are now expected to be drivers for positive change and to demonstrate an approach that considers environmental impact. ISO 14001:2015 standard is achieved through a process-led environmental management system which identifies and manages environmental risks where feasible. 

There are many immediate and long-term benefits including:

• Reduced carbon footprint, energy usage, waste disposal costs, environmental pollution and raw material consumption through streamlined operational procedures.
• Ensured compliance with stringent & evolving regulations reduces the risk of prosecution, can lower insurance costs and in some cases limit governmental environmental credentials checks.
• Enhanced brand recognition and a good public image. Achieving certification opens doors to new tender lists, impresses existing clients and gives you a competitive edge. 
• ISO 14001 proves to external parties that your Organisation communicates its EMS effectively to all employees, strives for continual improvement and monitors progress regularly, these are part of the standard’s requirements.
• Increased employee retention, motivation and talent acquisition. By demonstrating decisive action and commitment to environmental issues employees are usually more willing to join due to ethical values.

‍

• We are in the process of developing an online cost calculator to be able to provide certification consultancy costs, including certification body costs. Please keep checking our LinkedIn and Facebook profiles for updates! You can call 01892800476 or email info@avisoconsultancy.co.uk for further information.

‍

• Usually, between 3-6 months, but this depends on the size and complexity of the organisation, the resources available and the current management system in place.

‍

• No. There are no limits or restrictions to the size or type of organisation wanting to become certified to the ISO standard. 

‍

• The process begins with the development of an environmental management system fully supported by top-management.
• Next step is the Stage 1 Audit. An independent UKAS accredited auditor assesses if your EMS meets the requirements of ISO 14001 standard by conducting a ‘gap analysis’, the report will highlight areas that require action to conform to the clauses of the standard.
• Final step is the Stage 2 Audit conducted by an external UKAS accredited auditor. Once all corrective actions have been put in place since the Stage 1 report and you are fully compliant; your certification will be awarded!

‍

• UKAS is the ‘United Kingdom Accreditation Service,’ recognised by the British Government to assess the competence of auditing bodies that provide certification, testing, inspection, and calibration services. UKAS audits certification bodies: such as ISOQAR, BSI, NQA and QEC to ensure compliance. Many businesses are sold cheaper quotes for ISO standards by certification bodies / consultancies without UKAS accreditation. Please be aware, without UKAS accreditation potential contracts can be lost as when clients realise the EMS is not valid, they may require you to recertify with a UKAS accredited certification body before signing bilateral contracts. Due to the conflict of interest’s certification bodies BSI, QEC, ISOQAR and NQA cannot offer guidance as their role is to be an independent assessor. For advice/ consultancy contact an ISO provider certified by UKAS.

‍

• A certified environmental management system is valid for three years. During this period, internal and external surveillance audits are necessary to maintain conformity during the three-year period before complete recertification.

‍

• Not necessarily. The most cost-effective way would be for your organisation to have an umbrella system whereby all the sites would have to prove that the management system is being followed. A presentation certificate for each site can be issued to ensure conformity to the standard across all your sites. If more than 5 sites, they will apply a sampling approach to the audits, they will need to see all the sites over the 3-year cycle of the audit.

‍

• Top management may assign a Compliance Manager or as add-on duties to the role of one of their competent employees. Competent persons based on their education, skills, and knowledge from senior management are recommended to work alongside our management consultants to maintain your management system. Varies from company to company, but whoever has a good working knowledge of the organisation and has the resources to get the job done. 

‍

• AvISO have an industry-leading reputation for providing a first-class service and a 100% certification success rate with the UKAS accreditation service. 
• All our consultants are certified lead auditors. With over 10 years’ experience in the ISO standards sector we can provide you practical and innovative solutions.
• Your assigned EMS managers will be provided access to ISOVA, our cloud-based software solution designed with a user-friendly interface. ISOVA was designed by leading ISO consultants to help navigate an EMS with ease, this saves time and helps external auditors check for compliance. The home page has a real-time dashboard that is linked with your reports, such as Risks and Opportunities, to easily track your progress and outstanding remedial actions.
• Our client-focused approach focuses on creating value for your business, not simply ticking clauses off a checklist.
• You can view our ISO 14001 clients’ testimonials and case studies here.
• We can guide you through the standard and gather the required information on-site or remotely. AvISO use SharePoint as a secure way to safely update documents online to maintain and support your management system.

‍

• Our consultants are certified lead auditors and are experienced in implementing ISO management systems. Typically, our consultants specialise in 1-3 specific ISO standards and AvISO will assign our consultants with skillsets matching client requirements.

‍

• Yes, AvISO provides exclusive training courses called Toolbox Talks about Management Systems. The courses are designed to give each clause a general understanding and further information. 

‍

• Our expert consultants are always available for help and advice via conference calls, phone and email. Regular visits and communication can be arranged together with an internal audit program agreed upon as an ongoing AvISO consultancy service.

‍

All ISO standards follow the same framework, where clauses 1-3 are non-assessed and clauses 4-10 are assessed by an auditor. Clause 8 is the meat of each specific standard and often will require a fresh outlook. Similar to other Management Systems, your EMS will have integrated document and record control and be subject to independent / impartial internal audits. Of particular interest should be areas of high environmental risk & control to maximise the benefit of the continual improvement process towards environmental objectives and ensure compliance to legal obligations. Employees must also be aware of the EMS and its implications, this can be through training, inductions or communicated by departmental managers, emails or other forms of communication. Again, there will be monitoring and measurement of environmental KPIs relevant to the Organisations processes, which are escalated to senior leadership for formalised management review.

‍

No, you do not necessarily need to change your current management system’s processes to comply with ISO:14001. However, it is required that you assess each step in the Organizations’ life cycle in terms of environmental risks and opportunities. This new way of thinking and data collection may lead to uncovering inefficiencies and prompt changes to your way of working. For example, reducing energy usage/ material consumption, the use of greener products or suppliers and controlling pollution. 

‍

An environmental aspect of an Organisation is any element of its activities that can interact with the environment. For instance, electricity usage for equipment and noise from transport/ manufacturing.

‍

An environmental impact is the effect these aspects have on the environment. Continuing from our previous examples: energy use contributes to global warming, especially if generated through fossil fuels and noise can affect local communities and wildlife.

‍

Significant environmental aspects are simply environmental aspects recognised as important and relevant to the Organisation. The Organization understands the need to reduce and manage these aspects with more scrutiny. This enables the Organisation to focus resources on the aspects important to them If it is a legal requirement or has a potential for serious impact these should certainly be considered.

‍

Risk means uncertainty and, in this case, environmental risks are related to significant environmental aspects that are not properly controlled.  For example, the risk of an environmental incident such as spillage or effluent water pollution. However, this can have knock on risks to the Organisation other than the environmental impact. This can include damage to public image and brand reputation, financial penalties from regulators, inability to recruit new employees’ less willingness from suppliers and other 3^rd parties with the supply chain to sign/ renew contracts. 

‍

Required information to achieve ISO 14001:2015 standard include documents stating your Organisation’s Policy on Quality, specific objectives and an action plan to ensure success. An exhaustive list of these clauses is below:

For a detailed breakdown of each of these clauses and how to implement them into your Management System see our ISO:14001 How to guide

Scope of the Environmental Management System (clause 4.3) – boundaries of your EMS, including sites, processes products and services.

Environmental policy (clause 5.2) – your commitment to environmental objectives and continual improvement

Actions to address risks and opportunities (clause 6.1) – to prevent or reduce undesirable impacts and ensure the intended results of the EMS.

Environmental Aspects (clause 6.1.2) – Aspects are anything in your business with an impact on the environment. Identify and score these based on using risk assessment methodology regularly.

Environmental objectives and how these will be achieved (clause 6.2.1) – Prioritised through risk assessments of environmental aspects and measured for progress. E.g., example monthly energy consumption or waste tonnage.

The Organisation must evidence records that support the clauses of the standard in relation to your Environmental Management System. An exhaustive list is below.

Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties (clause 4.2) – list of the requirements for all parties impacted by the business activities. 

Records of competency in staff (clause 7.2)

Communication (7.4.2, 7.4.3) – Internally communicate the EMS across all relevant stakeholders so that all individual’s expected contributions towards environmental objectives are universally understood.

Operational planning and control (clause 8.1) – Evidence that you are executing procedures with controls that meet legal obligations and environmental objectives. 

Emergency preparedness and response (clause 8.2) – planned and tested actions to prevent and mitigate environmental damage from business operations and similarly for situations when external environmental events affect operations.

Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation (clause 9.1)

Evaluation of compliance (clause 9.1.2)

Internal Audit results (9.2.2) – critical component of an EMS, used to regularly assess its effectiveness and environmental performance.  

Results of the management review (clause 9.3)

Results of corrective actions including opportunities for improvement (clause 10.2)

To ensure that these files are available and easily accessible to auditors is also a requirement.

‍