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Steps to ISO 14001 Certification

What do we need to do to become ISO 14001 Registered?

You will need to get some general training on ISO14001 so you understand what you need to do in your company to meet the requirements of the standard. Consider purchasing our Introduction to ISO 14001 presentation materials package.

Develop and document your ISO 14001 Environmental Management System

Learn about ISO 14001

The ISO 14001 Workbook is a series of detailed checklists, exercises and instructions that take you through 30 systematic tasks for your organization to consider and complete.

The Workbook includes a set of three ISO 14001 PowerPoint training presentations designed to be a companion to the Workbook. Use these to train everyone in the organization on the ISO 14001 implementation and system.

These products are all integrated to work together to help you achieve certification. This is an effective method that is well suited to small and medium size organizations.

The identified workbook provides a very hands-on approach and the work can be systematically and successfully completed with a small multi-tasking staff.

The Workbook is part of our do-it-yourself-workshop approach along with the ISO 14001 Documentation Package, and will save you time and money by guiding you through the necessary steps.

Conduct an Initial Environmental Review

The first step in is to state your environmental position, determining your organization’s current status and compare it to the goals you plan to meet. 

View our free online tutorial Initial Environmental Audit

Develop and document your ISO 14001 Environmental Manual and Procedures

The biggest portion of the project is looking at your current processes, and redesigning them to address all of the requirements in the standard. Once you have modified or developed processes to meet the standard, you will need to control those processes. Documenting the processes as Quality System procedures is part of this control.

Learn about the 14000 Store Documentation Package

Use and improve your EMS

Once your system is developed and documented, employees will follow the procedures collect records and make improvements to the system. For approximately three months or more, your organization will run the EMS, collecting records. This prepares the organization for a Self-Declaration of compliance and/or an Audit by a Registrar.

Achieving Registration

To get your Registration, you will need to select a Registrar and they will come and perform your registration audit, and then regular surveillance audits. During these audits, the Auditor will be looking at your EMS to make sure that it meets the requirements of the standard. If they find that there are pieces of your EMS that do not meet the requirements, they will document a "Nonconformance". Your registration will be dependant on your correcting any nonconformances that are found.