iso 14001:2015 - mastering your …...the iso 14001:2015 environmental management system provides...

ISO 14001:2015 - MASTERING YOUR ENVIRONMENTALRISKS & PREPARING FOR EMERGENCIES

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ISO 14001:2015 - Mastering your Environmental Risks & Preparing for Emergencies

CONTENTSWHAT ARE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS AND IMPACTS? 3

MANAGING SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS? 5

STEPS TO SETTING UP AN EMERGENCY PLAN 5

WHY IMPLEMENT AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 6

HOW CAN RISK ZA ASSIST YOU? 6



The ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System provides assurance to company management, employees and stakeholders that environmental impacts are being measured, monitored, controlled and continually improved.

What does ISO 14001:2015 require when it discusses emergency preparedness and response? Where do you start, what sort of emergencies do you need to address and how thorough do your plans need to be? To answer these questions you need to first look to your environmental aspects and impacts.

WHAT ARE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS AND IMPACTS?Aspects and impacts analysis is an important requirement in ISO 14001:2015. The standard states,:“The organization shall establish a procedure to identify environmental aspects and determine those aspects that have or can have a significant impact to the environment.” What does this mean?

Briefly, an organisation’s activities, products and services that interact with the environment are referred to as “aspects”. Aspects mayAspects may have a negative or positive impact on the environment and aspects that change the environment are referred to as environmental impacts. Environmental aspects include:

Emissions to airReleases to groundwaterReleases to surface waterUse of waterWaste management and disposalContamination of landImpact on communitiesUse of raw materialsUse of energyUse of radioactive materialUse of natural resources

An aspects and impacts analysis is a form of environmental risk assessment. This allows you to determine the severity of the actual and potential threats your organisation’s activities have on or pose to the environment and to set priorities for reducing environmental risks.



SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS ARE THE MAIN FOCUS OF YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND IT IS NECESSARY TO:

Determine where aspects can be controlled or influenced.Identify the environmental impacts associated with environmental aspects.Take a lifecycle perspective in relation to environmental impacts. Lifecycle stages include acquiring raw materials, design, production, transportation, delivery, use, end-of-life treatment and final disposal.Consider planned changes, such as new or modified activities, products or services.Take into account abnormal conditions and foreseeable emergency situations.

NOTE: Organisations must establish their own criteria for significance based on a systematic review of their environmental aspects and their actual (present) and potential (future) impacts.



MANAGING SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTSSignificant environmental aspects must be communicated throughout the organisation and the organisation is required to maintain documented information of:

Environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts.The criteria which have been applied to determine which environmental aspects result or may result in a significant environmental impact.Significant environmental aspects.

A register of significant environmental aspects is usually produced to meet the standard’s requirement to maintain documented information and it must be reviewed and kept up to date.

Significant aspects need to be controlled and the level of control needs to be appropriate to the nature and the risk and form part of the daily work routine.

STEPS TO SETTING UP AN EMERGENCY PLANOrganisations implementing and certifying to the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems standard are obliged to identify potential emergency situations and accidents that can impact the environment and plan an appropriate response.

The aim of emergency preparedness and response is to guide employees in an accident or emergency situation to prevent or minimise injury, damage and material loss and to prevent or mitigate environmental impact from the accident or emergency.

The following steps broadly explain how to set up an emergency plan according to ISO 14001:2015.

STEP 1: IDENTIFICATION

Identify potential accident(s) related to your circumstances and type of activity. If you run a factory, for example, spillage or release of materials that are corrosive, toxic, flammable or carcinogenic may be your potential risks.

STEP 2: PREVENTION

Implement preventive measures related to every type of potential accident. ISO 14001:2015 states that emergency plan(s) must include actions to prevent and mitigate associated environmental impacts.



STEP 3: EMERGENCY PLAN

Depending on the complexity of the situation, the organisation should establish one or more emergency plans. Review and revise your emergency plans where necessary, particularly after an accident or emergency.

STEP 4: TRAINING AND DRILLS

Train your employees about preventive measures and your emergency plan,.To be sure that personnel react according to the emergency plan, ISO 14001:2015 requires that you perform periodic drills based on predefined scenarios. How often? That depends on the risk.

STEP 5: EVALUATION AND IMPROVEMENT

Drill reports need to take into consideration gaps between the emergency plan and the drill result and should focus on closing gaps to improve the emergency plan. With this approach, you will continue to improve your performance over time, which is one of the fundamental requirements of ISO 14001:2015.

WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER IMPLEMENTING AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?Implementing the standard holds several key benefits. It helps organisations to use resources efficiently and reduce environmental impacts by reducing waste and through the responsible use of resources.

In turn, organisations benefit from reduced costs associated with the effective use of resources and waste minimisation and higher levels of trust from the public and stakeholders.

HOW CAN RISK ZA ASSIST YOU?Risk ZA is committed to helping you succeed with the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System. Here’s how...

TRAINING

We offer an extensive range of training courses designed and delivered to create awareness in an organisation and to educate individuals. Our training programmes are aligned with SAQA Unit Standards and are facilitated by a range of industry experts and registered educators.

View the current Public Training Schedule here.

https://www.riskza.com/training-schedule-booking/



AUDITING

Auditing is an integral function of continual improvement. Risk ZA promotes and makes use of risk-based auditing and conducts performance and conformance audits both for clients and on their behalf. The scope and criteria differ for each engagement and we conduct our audits with influence from ISO 19011 and ISO 17021. The following Auditing Services are offered by Risk ZA:

First-party internal auditsSecond-partySecond party supplier auditsThird-partyThird party preparation audits (pre-certification)

CONSULTING

We specialise in consulting on all policies, procedures, processes, systems and other business activities. Our risk-based approach enables our consultants to effectively advise on restraints or potential areas of risk which could or are currently affecting the consistency of business processes and/or hindering profitability.

Our expertise includes compliance to international standards, corporate governance legislation and best practices and other enterprise-wide risk contributors. Consulting Interventions include:

Gap Analysis and Project PlanningSteering CommitteesPolicy DevelopmentProcess Mapping and EvaluationCorrective Action SystemsSystem Development and ImplementationDocumentation Creation, Review and Control

ONLINE LEARNING

Risk ZA is the regional channel and technical partner for Erudio Global, an Online ISO Training and Coaching provider. We pride ourselves on our ability to offer online learning solutions, at a reduced rate, throughout the African continent.

This service is aimed at those who are pressed for time and can’t afford to be away from the workplace for extended periods, as well as those operating in remote locations, leaving them unable to attend Risk ZA’s training courses.

Online courses currently focus on ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management and ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management.

Sign-up today by clicking here.

https://www.riskza.com/onlinelearning/



SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Risk ZA offers a variety of Software Solutions, specifically designed to suit your organisation’s needs and aimed at meeting your Document Control requirements in accordance with ISO Document Control Procedures.

Click here and complete the form indicating your current set-up.

Our experts are here to help you! For further assistance, please contact our friendly team! Call us on +27 (0) 31 569 5900, or email [email protected].

https://www.riskza.com/software/

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