ISO 14001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system (EMS). It provides a framework that an organization can follow, rather than establishing environmental performance requirements. Part of the ISO 14000 family of standards on environmental management, ISO 14001 is a voluntary standard that organizations can get an ISO 14001 EMS certificate. Integrating it with other management systems standards, most commonly ISO 9001 QMS, can further assist in accomplishing organizational goals. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines an environmental management system as “part of the management system used to manage environmental aspects, fulfil compliance obligations, and address risks and opportunities.” As in any other situation that requires a systematic approach, you can’t go wrong if you apply the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. The steps should be taken according to the following:
Planning the EPE
Organizations must integrate environmental performance evaluation into the organisation's regular operations if they want it to be effective. The necessities of the interested parties, the relevant environmental factors, and the standards for evaluating environmental performance must all be considered while creating the EPE.
The management is responsible for providing the ISO 14001 documents, financial, and human resources required for the EPE's management. The beginning scope of EPE may be restricted to those aspects of operations, goods, or services that the management has determined to be of the utmost importance, contingent upon the organization's capacity and resources. The remaining activities, goods, and services may eventually be added to the EPE's original scope.
The full range of the organization's operations, goods, and services, together with other elements that comprise the framework of the organization, must be considered while organizing the environmental performance assessment. The management is responsible for providing the material, financial, and human resources required for the EPE's management.
Using data and information (Do)
To supply information for determining the values of particular environmental performance indicators, the company should routinely gather data. Data should be gathered methodically, from reliable sources, and as often as the management decides. The information describing the efficacy of environmental protection should be derived from the analysis of the gathered data. All important and trustworthy data that has been gathered must be considered to prevent variations in the outcomes. The emission of CO2 can be used as an environmental performance indicator, and the targeted emission of CO2 can be used as the criterion when comparing the measurement results of EPIs. This comparison can show how environmental protection performance has improved over time. These findings can help explain why certain environmental performance requirements are reached or not.
Management has to be informed about the environmental performance and comparison outcomes so they may take the necessary steps to maintain or raise the organization's existing environmental performance level. The significance of internal reporting on environmental performance evaluation is in its ability to assist staff in carrying out their duties, which in turn helps the business meet its environmental performance standards. To improve the organisation's reputation in the minds of outside parties, the management may also report to or notify them.
Reviewing and improving the EPE (Check and Act)
To find areas for improvement, the organization's EPE and its outcomes must be reviewed regularly. This review can help the management take better organizational and managerial measures as well as improve the state of the environment. Examining the EPE and its findings can involve the following phases:
- Accomplished effectiveness of environmental protection and its cost
- Improvement in achieving criteria of environmental protection
- Suitability of criteria for environmental protection
- Correctness of selected environmental performance indicators
- Sources of data, approaches for collection of data, and quality of data
Once the organization have all the information, it can start improving its system through corrective and preventive actions.
Source: https://ems14001consultant.wordpress.com/2023/11/08/understand-the-iso-14001-environmental-performance-evaluation
