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Both old and new standards cover essentially the same topics.However, there are some important differences. Some of theseare discussed below.

Structure of standard

Perhaps the biggest difference between the old and the new standardis the structure. This is because the new edition uses the new Annex Stemplate. According to !S", all future management system standards#$SSs% will use this new layout and share the same basic re&uirements.

As a result, all new $SSs will have the same loo' and feel.

A common structure is possible because basic concepts such asmanagement, re&uirements, policy, planning, performance, ob(ective,process, control, monitoring, measurement, auditing, decision ma'ing,corrective action, and nonconformity are common to all managementsystem standards. A common structure should ma'e it easier for organi)ations to implement multiple standards because they will allshare the same basic language and the same basic re&uirements.

*ontext of the organi)ation

+nli'e the old standard, the new one expects you to understandyour organi)ations external context and its internal context beforeyou establish its environmental management system # -$S %. Thismeans that you need to identify and understand the external issuesand the external environmental conditions that could influence your organi)ations -$S and the results that it intends to achieve. !t also

means that you need to identify and understand the internal issuesand internal environmental conditions that could influence your-$S and the results in intends to achieve.

The new !S" /00 102 standard also expects you to identify theinterested parties that are relevant to your -$S and to identify their needs and expectations. "nce youve done this, it expects you to

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study these needs and expectations and to figure out which oneshave become compliance obligations.

But why is all this necessary3 !ts necessary because your -$Swill need to be able to manage all of these influences . "nce youunderstand your context, youre expected to use this 'nowledgeto help you define your -$S and the challenges it must deal with.

4is' planning

+nli'e the old standard, the new !S" /00 standard expectsyou to determine 5ris's and opportunities6. So what does thismean and what does the new standard expect you to do3

!t expects you to start by establishing a ris' planning process. !t thenexpects you to use this process to identify ris's and opportunitiesrelated to your organi)ation7s uni&ue context , its interested parties, itscompliance obligations, and its environmental aspects. !t then expectsyou to define actions to address all of these ris's and opportunities.

And to ma'e sure that these actions will actually be carried out, it as's

you to ma'e these actions an integral part of your -$S processes, andthen to implement, control, evaluate, and review the effectiveness ofthese actions and these processes.

8hile ris' planning is now an integral part of the new !S" /00standard, it does not actually expect you to implement a formalris' management process.

Preventive action

The new !S" /00 standard no longer uses the term  preventive action.8e7re now expected to use ris' planning concepts and to thin' of theentire -$S as a system of preventive action. !S" /00 102 sectionA.0. says there is no longer a single clause on preventive action

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because “One of the key purposes of an environmental management system is to act as a preventive tool. This concept of preventive actionis now captured in 4.1 (i.e., understanding the organization and its

contet! and ".1 (i.e., actions to address risks and opportunities!.6

So, according to the new standard, these two sets of re&uirementscover the old concept of preventive action. -vidently, once we reali)ethat the entire -$S can be used to manage ris's and opportunities, weno longer need a separate clause on preventive action. !ts redundant.

9ocumented information

The new !S" /00 102 standard has also eliminated the longstanding distinction between documents and records. :ow theyreboth referred to as 5documented information6. 8hy !S" chose toabandon two common sense concepts and replace them with onethat is needlessly aw'ward and esoteric is not entirely clear.

According to !S"s definition, the term documented information refers to information that must be controlled and maintained. So,whenever !S" /00 102 uses the term documented information it

implicitly expects you to control and maintain that information andits supporting medium. However, this isnt the whole story.

An annex to the new !S" /00 102 standard #A.;% further says that“this international standard now uses the phrase #retain documented information as evidence of# to mean records, and #maintain documented information# to mean documentation other than records.$ 

So, whenever the new !S" /00 standard refers to documented information and it as's you to maintain this information, it is tal'ingabout what used to be referred to as documents, and whenever it as's

you to retain this information, it is tal'ing about what used to be calledrecords. So sometimes documented information must be maintained and sometimes it must be retained  #contrary to what !S"s officialdefinition says%.

So, while the official definition of the term documented informationabandons the distinction between documents and records, through

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the use of the words

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your compliance obl igat ions, your corporate context, your physicalboundaries, your products and services, your activities and functions,and your authorities and abil it ies when you define the scope of your 

-$S. And it as's you to include all products, services, and activitiesthat have significant environmental aspects.

The new term “legal re&uirements and other re&uirementsto which the organization su'scri'es$ . However, the meaning is thesame. There are two 'inds of compliance obligations> mandatorycompliance obligations and voluntary compliance obligations .andatory compliance o'ligations include laws and regulations whilevoluntary compliance o'ligations include contractual commitments,community and industry standards, ethical codes of conduct, and

good governance guidelines. A voluntary obligation becomesmandatory once you decide to comply with it.

The new standard no longer refers to environmental targets.According to section A.?.1, %The concept of “target$ used in prior editions of this )nternational *tandard is captured within the definitionof “environmental o'+ective$. @ou can, of course, still set targets andcall them targets if you wish. The only real difference is that the new!S" /00 standard thin's of a target as a type of ob(ective.

ife cycle considerations were largely ignored by the old standard.

:ow theyre central. !S" /00 now expects you to use a life cycleperspective to “identify the environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts of its activities, products and services thatit can control and those that it can influence$ #section ?..1%.

The term 5management representative6 has been officially dropped.The management duties and responsibili ties that were previouslyassigned to someone called a 5management representative6 maynow be assigned either to one person or to many. "f course, youmay continue to use this (ob title if you wish.

Both old and new standards cover essentially the same topics.However, there are some important differences. Some of these

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are discussed below.

Structure of the standard

Perhaps the biggest difference between the old and the newstandard is the structure. !S" 00 100= had five main sections#/ to =% and !S" 00 102 now has seven #/ to 0%. This is becausethe new edition uses the new nne *- template. According to !S",all future management system standards #$SSs% will use this newlayout and share the same basic re&uirements. As a result, all new

$SSs will have the same basic loo' and feel.

A common structure is possible because basic concepts such asmanagement, customer, re&uirements, policy, procedure, planning,performance, ob(ective, control, monitoring, measurement, auditing,decision ma'ing, corrective action, and nonconformity are commonto all management system standards. 8hile this will ma'e it easier for organi)ations to implement multiple standards because they will allshare the same basic re&uirements, it may cause some disruptionin the short run as organi)ations get used to the new structure.

*ontext of the organi)ation

+nli'e the old standard, the new one expects you to understandyour organi)ations contet  before you establish its $S. 8hen!S" 00 102 as's you to understand your organi)ations contet  it wants you to consider the external and internal issues that arerelevant to its purpose and strategic direction and to thin' about

the influence these issues could have on its $S and theresults it intends to achieve.

This means that you need to understand your organi)ationsexternal environment, its culture, its values, its performance, andits interested parties before you develop its $S. 8hy3 Because

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your $S will need to be able to manage all of these influences.

And once you understand all of this, youre expected to use this

special insight to help you define the scope of your $S and thechallenges it must deal with. 8hile this will certainly help ensurethat organi)ations develop uni&ue &uality management systemsthat address their own needs and re&uirements, doing all of thiscould be &uite a challenge for some organi)ations.

9ocumented information

The new !S" 00 102 standard has also eliminated the longstanding distinction 'etween documents and records. :ow theyare both referred to as “documented information$ . 8hy !S" choseto abandon two common sense concepts and replace them withone that is needlessly aw'ward and esoteric is not entirely clear.

According to !S"s definition, the term documented information refers to information that must be controlled and maintained. So,whenever !S" 00 102 uses the term documented information it implicitly expects you to control and maintain that information

and its supporting medium. However, this isnt the whole story.

An annex to the new standard #A.?% further says that %here)*O /0012003 would have referred to documented procedures ...this is now epressed as a re&uirement to maintain documented information$ , and %here )*O /0012003 would have referred torecords this is now epressed as a re&uirement to retain documented information% .

So, whenever the new standard refers to documented information and it as's you to maintain this information, its tal'ing about what

used to be referred to as procedures, and whenever it as's you toretain this information, its tal'ing about what used to be calledrecords. So sometimes it must be maintained  and sometimes itmust be retained  #contrary to what the official definition says%.

So, while the definition of the term

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procedures% and records, through the use of the words

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8hile ris'Cbased thin'ing is now an essential part of the newstandard, it does not actually expect you to implement a formalris' management process nor does it expect you to document

your ris'Cbased approach.

4e&uirements and exclusions

Section .1 of !S" 00 100= says that organi)ations mayexclude or ignore product reali)ation re&uirements #section E%if they cannot be applied and if doing so doesnt interfere with its

ability or responsibility to meet customer and legal re&uirements.The new standard ta'es a similar approach but, instead, seemsto apply this thin'ing to all re&uirements.

Section /.; of !S" 00 102 says “The organization shall apply allthe re&uirements of this )nternational *tandard if they are applica'lewithin the determined scope of its &uality management system$.So once you7ve determined the scope of your $S, !S" 00 102says that every re&uirement must be applied within the boundariesdefined by your statement of scope if it applies in your case.

However, while the new !S" 00 102 standard says that everyre&uirement must be appl ied, section /.; and Annex A2 also saysthat any re&uirement may be excluded if it cannot be applied, if youcan (ustify and explain why it can7t be applied, and if excluding itdoes not undermine your ability or responsibility to ensure thatproducts and services are in compliance.

So, the message is clear> if a re&uirement can be applied youcant (ust ignore it. @ou must apply it. And if you really can7tapply it, you better be able to explain why not.

"b(ects, outputs, products, and services

The definition of the term 5ob(ect6 is new. The introduction of

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the term 5ob(ect6 to mean anything conceivable or perceivableand its use in various definitions #&uality, design and development,innovation, review, traceability% seems to suggest that the new

!S" 00 standard can be applied to any ob(ect whatsoever.!n theory at least, this greatly expands its scope.

8hat !S" 000 1002 used to call a 5product6 the new standardnow calls an 5output6. The two definitions are the same. Since theterm 5output6 was not defined in 1002, this shift in terminologysuggests that the process approach is now even more centralto the new standard.

And to further complicate things, the old definition of 5product6 hasnow been split into three separate definitions for the terms output ,

 product , and service. 5Output 6 is the general concept since both5 products6 and 5services6 are now thought of as 5outputs6.

"ther clarifications and modifications

8hile the previous changes could be the most important ones,the new standard has also clarified some concepts and modified

others. Some of these changes are listed below.

The old standard said that a 5service6 was a type of 5 product 6.:ow, the phrase %products and services% is used throughout thenew standard and the term

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:ow, !S" 00 102 says it means enhancing performance#getting better results%. This is an important shift.

According to the new standard, organi)ations must now identify,ac&uire, and share the 5knowledge6 that personnel need in orderto support process operations and achieve conformity ofproducts and services.

The old concept of “product realization$  is gone. $ost of thematerial in the old product reali)ation section has been modifiedand moved to the new !S" 00 102 section on Operations.

The term “management representative$  has been dropped.The management duties and responsibilities that were previously

assigned to someone called a 5management representative6 maynow be assigned either to one person or to many people.

%5reventive action%  has also disappeared. !t7s been replacedby %risk'asedthinking% , evidently because both approaches tryto achieve the same thing. Both try to prevent future problems."nce you introduce ris'Cbased thin'ing, you no longer need aseparate clause on preventive action. !ts redundant.

8hile the old standard as'ed you to use monitoring and measuring5e&uipment 6, the new standard refers to monitoring and measuring

5resources6. This is a more flexible approach to monitoring andmeasuring because it recogni)es the fact that these activitiescan often be carried out without the use of e&uipment.