ISO 14001 Certification
Environmental Management System Standard
ISO 14001 Certification With Ease
Implementing an environmental management system and becoming certified can be daunting for small and medium-sized businesses. Our expert ISO 14001 consultants will do all the hard work to avoid disrupting your day-to-day operations.
Win New Business Opportunities
Achieving ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) is an excellent strategy for improving bid-winning performance. Certification will help your business gain a competitive advantage, win new business and allow you access to new markets. Our flexible ISO 14001 consultancy service can help you achieve your business goals quickly.
Our Pricing & Service Commitment
We know that pricing and customer service are important to you. We are always committed to providing you with the very best value for your money through great pricing, our certification guarantee, and excellent customer service surpassing your expectations.
How it works: Step-By-Step to ISO 14001 Certification
Let’s start your journey with a free consultation. This is a chance to discuss your goals, the scope of ISO 14001 certification, and how it can improve your business. We’ll provide a summary of the process, expenses, schedules, and what to anticipate as we progress.
Our first activity is to carry out a gap analysis. The gap analysis will represent a ‘walk-through’ of your existing processes and procedures and compare them with ISO 14001 environmental management standard requirements.
This activity reveals potential gaps or weaknesses so we can take action and get you audit-ready. It’s also a good introduction to the audit process and allows your team to understand what the formal audit will entail.
Based on the gap analysis findings, we will develop a comprehensive suite of bespoke processes and documents forming your environmental management system that reflects your organisation’s operations and commitment to reducing its impact on the environment.
For your EMS to be effective, employees must understand how to utilise the environmental management system in their day-to-day operations. We will ensure you and your team are well-versed in new processes and procedures.
After implementing your new management system, we will conduct a certification audit in-person or remotely to confirm alignment with the ISO 9001 standard requirements within your organisation.
Throughout the audit, the approach taken by assessors is designed to provide “added value” by being open, helpful, and pragmatic.
After completing the audit, the assessor will hold a meeting with you to discuss any findings. If there are no major deficiencies, you will be issued the ISO 14001 certification.
Your certificate will be valid for three years after the issue date, before which you must recertify.
Achieving ISO 14001 certification is a significant milestone, but the journey towards managing your environmental impact and maintaining compliance doesn’t end there.
Our support extends beyond the certification audit to ensure your organisation thrives. ISO support is optional and flexible to meet your needs; typically, support consists of assisting you with meeting the requirements to conduct internal audits and management reviews and keep your environmental management documentation current
Learn more about our flexible and cost-effective ISO Support Plans here.
Once you have achieved certification, the three-year certification cycle begins. We will establish a program of mandatory routine surveillance audits arranged to take place annually and a recertification audit in year 3.
The objective of surveillance audits is to verify that your systems and processes continue to be maintained, effectively implemented and compliant with the ISO 14001 Standard.
Typical surveillance audit activities include:
- internal audits and management review reports
- close out of outstanding findings from the previous audit
- non-conformance, corrective and preventive action processes
- management of changes and the effectiveness of their implementation
- management of environmental compliance
- environmental risk management
- review of environmental objectives
- incident management
Benefits Of ISO 14001 Certification
Reduce Risk
By complying with the requirements of ISO 14001, you can reduce the risk of environmental hazards and liabilities, helping to protect your business from reputational damage and potential legal action.
Improved efficiency
Implementing ISO 14001 will help to ensure that your business operations are more efficient and effective, resulting in cost savings and improved profits.
Improved Performance
An EMS will help you continuously monitor and improve your environmental performance, helping you achieve your environmental objectives and comply with relevant environmental regulations.
Increased Environmental Awareness
ISO 14001 can help to raise awareness of environmental issues and best practices among your employees.
Improved Reputation
Becoming ISO 14001 certified demonstrates to your customers, suppliers and other stakeholders that you are committed to protecting the environment. The standard helps to improve your reputation and attract more customers.
Cost Savings
You can reduce costs and save money by minimising waste and increasing efficiency. This will result in increased profits for your business.
Explore Further
Learn more about the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard.
Frequently asked questions
ISO 14001 Environmental Management is the international standard that provides a framework for businesses to develop and implement an effective environmental management system (EMS).
The standard outlines the requirements for planning, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing environmental performance. It also provides guidance on how to identify, assess, and control environmental impacts, as well as how to set environmental objectives and targets.
ISO 14001 is now widely adopted by organisations worldwide, with more than 300,000 certificates awarded. It is a vital part of many organisations’ sustainability strategies and essential to business in today’s global economy.
The length of time required to obtain ISO 14001 certification can vary depending on a number of factors, including the size and complexity of your business, the readiness of your environmental management system, the availability of resources to support the implementation and certification process, and whether you want to integrate with other management standards.
Typically, we aim to certify our clients in 9 weeks or less.
For clients requiring UKAS-accredited certification, it can take between 3-6 months due to the complexity of the process and third-party certification bodies.
It is important to understand that obtaining certification for ISO 14001 is not a one-time event. Your business must undergo a mandatory 3-year certification cycle, during which surveillance audits will be conducted annually. In the 3rd year of the cycle, a recertification audit will be carried out.
The main objective of ISO 14001 is to provide a framework for organisations to manage and improve their environmental performance. This includes identifying and controlling their environmental impact, complying with regulations and laws related to the environment, and continuously improving their environmental management system.
The standard aims to help organisations operate in a more environmentally sustainable way while also achieving their business objectives.
It’s important to note that in many cases, obtaining UKAS-accredited ISO certification is not mandatory and not for every business. Typically, non-accredited certification is more than sufficient.
Principal ISO does not directly offer ISO certification accredited by UKAS; however, we work in partnership with reputable third-party UKAS-accredited Bodies to provide you with consultancy services and support guiding you through the entire process of achieving UKAS ISO certification.
The certification process accredited by UKAS is significantly more expensive and time-consuming. Make sure you verify if this level of certification is necessary. We are always happy to talk with you to explain the requirements in more detail.
It’s important to note that in many cases, obtaining UKAS-accredited ISO certification is not mandatory and not for every business. Typically, non-accredited certification is more than sufficient.
Principal ISO does not directly offer ISO certification that is accredited by UKAS; however, we work in partnership with reputable third-party UKAS-accredited Bodies to provide you with consultancy services and support guiding you through the entire process of achieving UKAS ISO certification.
The certification process accredited by UKAS is significantly more expensive and time-consuming. Make sure you verify if this level of certification is necessary. We are always happy to talk with you to explain the requirements in more detail.
We can assist you in achieving and integrating various management system standards, such as ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety.
We also offer expertise on other standards and accreditations such as Build Offsite Property Assurance Scheme (BOPAS), PAS 2060 Carbon Neutrality and more.