ISO 14001:2026, environmental management systems

Within the defined scope, the organization shall determine the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services that it can control and those it can influence, and their associated environmental impacts, considering a life cycle perspective that covers acquisition of raw materials, design, production, transportation and delivery, use, end-of-life treatment and final disposal. It shall determine potential emergency situations, including those that can have an environmental impact. When determining aspects it shall take into account normal and abnormal conditions, change including planned or new developments and new or modified activities, products and services, and potential emergency situations. It shall determine the aspects that have or can have a significant environmental impact using established criteria, communicate its significant aspects among the levels and functions of the organization as appropriate, and keep documented information on its aspects and impacts, the criteria used to determine significance, and the significant aspects.

The organization shall determine and have access to the compliance obligations related to its environmental aspects, determine how those obligations apply to it, and take them into account when establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving the environmental management system. Compliance obligations can result in risks and opportunities. The compliance obligations shall be available as documented information.

The organization shall establish environmental objectives at relevant functions and levels, taking into account its significant environmental aspects and related compliance obligations and considering its risks and opportunities. The objectives shall be consistent with the environmental policy, measurable if practicable, monitored, communicated, updated as appropriate and available as documented information.

The organization shall establish, implement, control and maintain the processes needed to meet the environmental management system requirements and to implement the actions determined in clause 6, by establishing operating criteria for the processes and implementing control of the processes in accordance with those criteria; controls can include engineering controls and procedures and can follow a hierarchy such as elimination, substitution and administrative controls. It shall control planned changes and review the consequences of unintended changes, taking action to mitigate adverse effects as necessary, and shall ensure that externally provided processes, products or services relevant to the intended outcomes of the system are controlled or influenced, with the type and extent of control or influence defined within the system. Consistent with a life cycle perspective it shall establish controls as appropriate so that its environmental requirements are addressed in the design and development process for the product or service considering each life cycle stage; determine its environmental requirements for the procurement of products and services as appropriate; communicate its relevant environmental requirements to external providers including contractors; and consider the need to provide information about potential significant environmental impacts associated with the transportation or delivery, use, end-of-life treatment and final disposal of its products and services. The 8.1 processes shall be available as documented information to the extent necessary for confidence that they are carried out as planned.

The organization shall evaluate its environmental performance and the effectiveness of the environmental management system, and shall determine what needs to be monitored, measured and analysed; the methods for monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation, as applicable, to ensure valid results; the criteria against which it will evaluate its environmental performance, and appropriate indicators; when monitoring and measuring shall be performed; and when the results shall be analysed and evaluated. It shall ensure that calibrated or verified monitoring and measurement equipment is used and maintained as appropriate, shall communicate relevant environmental performance information internally and externally as identified in its communication processes and as required by its compliance obligations, and shall keep appropriate documented information as evidence of the results.

The organization shall establish, implement and maintain the processes needed to evaluate whether it is meeting its compliance obligations, shall determine the frequency at which compliance will be evaluated, evaluate compliance and take action if needed, and maintain knowledge and understanding of its compliance status. Appropriate documented information shall be available as evidence of the compliance evaluation results.