The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is currently seeking feedback in connection with the revised draft of ISO 14001, Environmental Management Systems, from relevant stakeholders, including representatives of industry, academia, government regulatory bodies, consumer organizations, and members of the public. As the U.S. member body to ISO, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) invites all interested parties to submit comments on the revised standard. ISO 14001 provides guidance for an organization seeking to create and maintain environmental management systems intended to oversee its stated environmental policy and manage all environmental aspects that are under the organization's purview. This International Standard was first published in 1996 and was last revised in 2004; the next version of the standard is expected to be published during 2015. Once a final version of the revised International Standard is released, organizations that are certified to ISO 14001:2004 will have three years to comply with ISO 14001:2015 before their certification becomes out of date.
"The expert committee has put together this draft, they have done their work, and got it to the stage where it is mature enough to go literally to the world for comment," said Rob Steele, ISO secretary general.
The newly revised version of ISO 14001 has been released as a Draft International Standards (DIS), a significant milestone in the revision of this standard, which, like all ISO standards, is reviewed on a five-year cycle to ensure that it continues to be relevant and effective. This new version of the International Standard includes an increased focus on improvement of environmental performance and on the role of organization leadership in promoting environmental management, among other updates.
ISO/DIS 14001 is available for purchase on ANSI's eStandards Store (eSS). For more information about obtaining the revised draft of ISO 14001, or to ask questions about the commenting process, please contact ANSI Customer Service at [email protected]. All final comments on the draft should be submitted via email to [email protected].
To learn more about the revision, visit the official ISO 14001 revision information page.