Initiated in 1996, the voluntary standard ISO 14001 has established itself as a flagship basis for the control of environmental management systems (EMS) the world over. 25 years later, should we prepare to revise it? Express your opinion.

Destruction of the ozone layer, the Kyoto protocol, ecological scandals… The 1990s marked the beginning of rise in environmental awareness in society. At the time, the subject was not yet making the headlines in the newspapers, but economic players had started thinking about the need to contribute to the effort and to organize themselves, internally, to limit their own impacts.

This is how the concept of environmental management systems (EMS) was born. On the ecological front, quality management systems (QMS) already had their own voluntary standard, ISO 9001. ISO started working on EMSs in 1991, with a dedicated committee (ISO/TC 207/SC 1, still under British leadership today), which brings together experts in the subject, with the aim of developing a guide for use by companies and institutions. Each member country worked on the project, and they all approved a final version of the text in 1996: the voluntary standard ISO 14001. Adopted in Europe and in France, it is marketed today under the name NF EN ISO 14001 in the AFNOR collection.

ISO 14001: building and demonstrating an ecological approach

“We no longer realize it today, but when the first version of ISO 14001 was issued, it was a highly innovative publication”, explains Lina Ismail, project manager at AFNOR, who keeps track of the theme of environmental management in relation to ISO/TC 207. “For the first time, a benchmark recognized around the world laid down the founding principles of sustainable development. By evolving over time, it has established itself as an essential door-opener. ” Over time, meaning in its different versions: 2004, 2015, and maybe 2022?

25 years later, not a single economic actor, from businesses, to communities and institutions, would dispute the fact that it is necessary to manage their environmental impacts and to show that they are doing so. First, to the outside world, to demonstrate their best practices in the face of the competition and provide proof of their credentials in calls for tender. Many customers require their suppliers, service providers and subcontractors to have a certificate proving that their EMS meets the requirements of ISO 14001. Then, within the company, to mobilize the personnel, create a dynamic around a societal issue and control its risks.

ISO 14001: adaptable, modern, universal

“One of the strengths of ISO 14001 lies in its universality”, confirms Vincent Morisset, president of the French standardization commission covering this standard. “Businesses of all sizes and from all fields of activity anywhere can find their way around this standard. The text allows everyone to identify and control their impacts on the environment, in order to then assess the pertinence of taking concrete measures, in a process of continual improvement.” “ISO 14001 has done away with the idea that environmental policies are the prerogative of major groups. On the contrary, this standard shows that all structures can adopt one”, emphasizes Lina Ismail.

The major revision in 2015 introduced a new principle. In addition to the best endeavors obligation that organizations accepted when they adopted the standard (which meant that they must have a management system), the text now also directed them towards a performance obligation, by which they were incited to demonstrate that their environmental performance is improving. “This paradigm shift considerably strengthened ISO 14001”, insists Vincent Morisset. In addition, the life cycle-based approach breathed new life into the standard, which spread to every layer of the organization. Management and Quality Managers were no longer the only ones concerned! “Managers, especially those in the field, are in the front line to take concrete actions and make their teams aware of good practices. By placing the environment at the heart of the company’s strategy, ISO 14001 leads to in-depth actions”, observes the listener, Marie-Hélène Amétrano, who, since 1999, has been conducting certification audits in companies claiming to have an environmental management system that complies with the standard.

ISO 14001: a revision in 2022?

In mid-September 2021, the International Organization for Standardization is launching a major survey of the users of the standard to better understand how it is used, its strengths, but also its limits. And to see if it needs to be revised, like in 2004 and 2015. The results, expected in January 2022, will serve as a starting point for the debates in every ISO member country to determine the relevance of a revision. You can count on AFNOR to coordinate these exchanges with you and build a clear and consensual French position.