The ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System is one of the most popular standards. The ISO 14000:2015 family is designed for businesses and organisations of all sizes that need effective tools to manage their environmental obligations. ISO 14001 defines the criteria for an Environmental Management System. It establishes a structure for a company or organisation to follow to create an efficient Environmental Management System and for organisations to be environmentally responsible.
The standard is designed for any business, regardless of activity or industry. It may give confidence to corporate management, staff, and external stakeholders that environmental standards are met. With an Environmental Management System in place, you can show your customers how you are identifying, preventing, and reducing environmental risks.
Organisations need to adopt a proactive approach to improve their environmental performance. According to the International Organisation for Standardisation (2015) users have reported that the standard helps to:
- Demonstrate compliance with existing and future legislative and regulatory obligations.
- Increase leadership participation and staff engagement.
- Improve corporate reputation and stakeholder confidence through strategic communication.
- Achieve strategic business goals by incorporating environmental issues into business management.
- Provide a competitive and financial advantage through improved efficiencies and cost reductions.
- Encourage better environmental performance from suppliers by integrating them into the organisation’s business systems.
Top management can also encourage their employees to attend training on how to implement the standard. These courses vary from awareness, internal auditing, and implementation to lead auditing courses. They will teach employees how to use the standard for auditing management systems and to conduct internal audits while showing how to implement the standard within the organisation. There are various things that an individual can learn from this course.
Course objectives
- Learn about the main concepts, definitions, and standards of the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System (EMS).
- Gain an in-depth understanding of the ISO 14001:2015 standards, clause by clause, with practical Environmental Management System implementation concepts, guidance, and examples.
- Learn how the standard may help your company achieve its environmental duties and commitments more effectively.
- Learn the information and skills needed to put an ISO 14001:2015 environmental management system in place (EMS).
After attending the course, individuals will:
- Know that environmental audits must be designed and carried out following the standards for auditing management systems against ISO 14001:2015, as well as ISO 19011:2018 and ISO/IEC 17021:2015.
- Prepare, conduct, and follow up on ISO 14001:2015 audit activities.
- Examine an organisation’s documentation and discover gaps that need to be filled.
- Develop the skills necessary to lead an audit team in examining ISO 14001:2015 management systems and their capabilities to manage the system in an organisation.
- Develop a thorough understanding of the actual implementation of the ISO 14001:2015 Standard. This will assist with developing the confidence to apply this knowledge within your organisation.
- Be able to perform audits of the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System Standards as the lead auditor.
- Write factual audit reports and suggest corrective actions.
- Be able to perform a detailed gap analysis and develop a project plan to determine the resources that will be required.
- Know what each clause requires for effective implementation.
- Manage environmental risk and drive continual improvement.
- Address concerns that feed directly into corporate responsibility.
- Demonstrate environmental commitment to clients, regulators, and the public.
- Apply good practice using proven tools and techniques.
- Implement a system that considers socio-economic needs and environmental conditions.
- Provide products and services that consistently meet customer and regulatory environmental requirements.
Essentially, the system will help a business accomplish its environmental goals by reviewing, evaluating, and improving its environmental performance regularly.
WWISE has successfully conducted ISO 14001:2015 training and assisted with implementing the system for various companies such as Woman of Africa, SANRAL, and UNICA. If your company needs assistance with enrolling their employees for ISO 14001:2015 training, please do not hesitate to contact WWISE on 08610 99473 or email admin@wwise.co.za.