Introduction
This year ISO’s World Standards Day is focused on the subject of protecting our planet with Standards.
At Assent we champion International standards including those for Environmental & Energy management, but there are many more ISO Standards that contribute to protecting our planet.
The more our clients become aware of the sustainability ‘crisis’, the more they are asking us about best practice for their organisations.
Driving Better Environmental Standards
Often sustainability is not the primary driver for economic change. In recent months and years we’ve seen the environment increasing in social consciousness.
Protest groups, TV shows and popular culture have all contributed to Governments making commitments on climate change.
Being good to the environment is good for business.
Many organisations are moving toward sustainable practices before it is mandated by legislation, and this can give them a head start in competitiveness and efficiency.
Find out more about existing sustainability legislation affecting ISO 14001.
The Standards Supporting Sustainability
There are a number of standards across ISO’s catalog which help protect the planning. Here are three of the most popular:
ISO 14001 Environmental Management
ISO 14001 has been around for some time and provides the requirements for an environmental management system which includes assessing your aspects and impacts on the environment, addressing legislation and emergency response.
Of course environmental awareness is not a new concept, find out more about the Evolution of the Environmental Management System.
ISO 50001 Energy Management
In addition, ISO 50001 the Energy Management standard is growing in popularity, particularly within manufacturing.
Organisations can achieve significant savings by monitoring their energy consumption and making efficiency changes.
There is also increasing legal requirements to consider energy consumption including:
- ESOS – Energy Saving Opportunities Scheme,
- Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting framework for UK business.
Carbon Footprint Calculations
There are several methodologies for calculating your carbon footprint, and this includes taking an organisational perspective and a product perspective.
ISO 14064, updated in 2018, provides a specification for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
While ISO 14067 focuses on the Carbon footprint of products.
Common Non Conformities
Assent’s Open Data Project provides an insight to the common nonconformities within management system standards.
Below you can see a snapshot taken in October 2020, which shows the top 5 non conformances from audits, compared with all other categories.
ISO 14001 NC Data taken between October 2019 and October 2020. Full data set available here.
With 17% of all findings, [legal] compliance was the weakest area of the management system, showing that increasing legislation is taking a toll on organisations.
Implementing a structure management system and having it independently certified can help you meet compliance commitments.
Conclusion
Sustainability is in the choices we make as organisations and individuals, but by providing internationally agreed specifications and guidelines ISO standards can help protect the planet for future generations.
Contact us as Assent to find out how we can help you go greener!
