27 November 2015

Are you aware of updates to ISO 14001 and ISO 9001?

ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems and ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems have recently been revised.

ISO standards are reviewed every five years in order to ensure that they are still relevant for the marketplace. Businesses need to be aware of these changes and implement them in order to meet the new requirements.

The main changes to ISO 14001 include: 

• Environmental management more prevalent in strategic planning processes
• More focus on leadership
• Continued protection of environment through use of sustainable resources
• Improving environmental performance added
• Consideration of the lifecycle stages to identify aspects and impacts
• Internal and external communications processes

ISO 14001:2015 will contain more business management terminology adapted to the overall business processes.

The main changes to ISO 9001 include:

• Easier to use with other management system standards
• Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties
• Addressing risks with actions equivalent to the potential impact
• Proactive improvement through innovation or reorganisation

ISO 9001:2015 has had major changes made to its terminology, those of which are listed in the file below.

Organisations are given a three-year transition period after each ISO revision is made in order to adapt their systems accordingly.

For full information on the new revisions, view our Gap Guides below.