For many years organisations have been managing the quality of the products and services they deliver by implementing quality management systems, such as the internationally recognised management system standard, ISO 9001.

However, with the growing realisation that the planet cannot sustain our current way of living, organisations are now also looking for ways to manage and improve the environmental impacts of producing and delivering those goods and services. There is also evidence to suggest that those organisations which implement an environmental management system are able to claim significant cost-savings as well as being able to demonstrate a commitment to achieving legal and regulatory compliance to regulators and government.

ISO 14001 is the international standard for environmental management systems and follows the same plan- do-check-act approach as that of ISO 9001. There are many common requirements between ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 – the only difference being the emphasis on environment rather than quality. For example, both require a policy, objectives and targets, staff to be competent, documents and records to be controlled and management reviews to be undertaken. However, there are also some significant differences.

The remainder of this document aims to make a comparison between ISO 14001 and ISO 9001, highlight

the differences clause by clause between them and considers what these will mean for an organisation with an existing ISO 9001 management system in place that wishes to implement an environmental management system to ISO 14001.

Please read this summary in conjunction with ISO 14001 which you can obtain by visiting: http://shop.bsigroup.com

ISO 14001 focuses on the identification and management of environmental aspects and impacts of our operations.

Summary of key differences

Ultimately, ISO 9001 is about designing and delivering a product or service that satisfies established customers’ needs. ISO 9001 then defines requirements to ensure this happens. ISO 14001 focuses on the need to protect the environment and to put in place controls of those significant activities that could have an impact on the environment.

For ISO 14001 the ‘customer’ can be seen as the environment, with the environmental requirements being effectively defined by legislation and regulations. The organisation is required to identify those activities that have a significant impact on the environment and implement controls to minimise that impact.

Monitoring and measuring in ISO 9001 relates to both processes and product, whereas ISO 14001 focuses on measuring the characteristics of operations that could have significant impacts on the environment.

Rather than non-conforming product referred to in ISO 9001, ISO 14001 refers to actual emergency situations and environmental accidents – though both still require corrective and preventive actions to be put in place.

Conclusion

So, whilst the emphasis between the two standards is different, there are a great number of common elements and approaches between them. So if you are thinking about implementing ISO 14001 and you already have an ISO 9001 quality management system in place, the gap is not as big as you may think.

Need further help understanding and implementing ISO 14001?

BSI provides a series of training courses ranging from one-day introductory courses to five-day lead auditor courses in ISO 14001 to help you and your colleagues develop and maintain the right skills and knowledge. You may also want to consider integrating your systems to make them more manageable. For more information about our training courses, please visit: www.bsigroup.co.uk/training

A comparison between ISO 14001 Environmental Management and ISO 9001 Quality Management

raising standards worldwide™

ISO 14001 and ISO 9001

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ISO 14001 ISO 9001 Comments

1 Scope 1 Scope ISO 14001 specifies the requirements for an environmental

management system.

2 Normative references 2 Normative references ISO 9001 refers to ISO 9000:2005 for Fundamentals and Vocabulary.

There are no normative references in ISO 14001.

3 Terms and definitions 3 Terms and definitions Whereas ISO 9001 refers to ISO 9000 for the definition of terms,

ISO 14001 contains the definitions of the key environmental terms

used within the standard.

4.1 General requirements 4.1 General requirements This section in both standards is very similar although ISO 14001

refers to the main elements of the EMS. ISO 9001 also refers to main

elements and their interaction in clause 5.3 whereas this is covered

elsewhere for ISO 14001.

4.2 Environmental policy 5.1 Management commitment

5.3 Quality policy

8.5.1 Continual improvement

The elements of clause 4.2 of ISO 14001 most closely correlate to

clause 5.3 of ISO 9001, though there are some additional references

to commitment and continual improvement in other clauses of

ISO 9001.

4.3.1 Environmental aspects 5.2 Customer focus

7.2.1 Determination of

requirements related to

the product

7.2.2 Review of requirements

related to the product

Rather than taking the view of requirements defined by the

customer and relating to the product, ISO 14001 focuses on the

significant environmental aspects related to the organisation’s

activities and taking these into account in establishing, implementing

and maintaining its environmental management system.

4.3.2 Legal and other

requirements

5.2 Customer focus

7.2.1 Determination of

requirements related to

the product

ISO 14001 focuses on identifying and understanding legal

requirements relating to the environment rather than customer

requirements or regulatory requirements relating to a product.

4.3.3 Objectives, targets and

programmes

5.4.1 Quality objectives

5.4.2 Quality management

system planning

8.5.1 Continual improvement

The requirements of clause 4.3.3 of ISO 14001 correspond to

elements within various clauses of ISO 9001. However, ISO 14001

also requires the organisation to consider its technological options as

well as the views of interested parties and determine a time-frame

within which objectives are to be achieved.

4.4.1 Resources, roles,

responsibility

and authority

5.1 Management commitment

5.5.1 Responsibility and

authority

5.5.2 Management

representative

6.1 Provision of resources

6.3 Infrastructure

ISO 14001 rolls into one clause the requirements covered by

these clauses in ISO 9001. ISO 14001 requires that roles,

responsibilities and authorities are documented as well as defined

and communicated.

2 ISO 14001 and ISO 9001

ISO 14001 and ISO 9001

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ISO 14001 ISO 9001 Comments

4.4.2 Competence, training

and awareness

6.2.1 (Human resources)

General

6.2.2 Competence, awareness

and training

ISO 14001 rolls into one clause the requirements covered by these

two clauses in ISO 9001. In addition to this, ISO 14001 requires that

any persons working on its behalf (whether direct employees or not)

are competent and that training needs are both identified and

acted upon.

4.4.3 Communication 5.5.3 Internal communication

7.2.3 Customer

communication

ISO 9001 requires a procedure for internal communication

only, whereas ISO 14001 requires a procedure for dealing with

communications from external interested parties in addition to

internal communications.

4.4.4 Documentation 4.2.1 (Documentation

requirements) General

These clauses are very similar though ISO 9001 refers to

documentation needed to ensure the effective planning, operation

and control of its processes where as ISO 14001 specifies these

processes as relating to its significant environmental aspects.

4.4.5 Control of documents 4.2.3 Control of documents No significant differences.

4.4.6 Operational control 7 Product realisation Ultimately, ISO 9001 is about designing and delivering a product

that satisfies established customers’ needs. ISO 9001 then defines

requirements to ensure this happens. ISO 14001 focuses on the need

to protect the environment and to put in place controls of those

significant activities that could have an impact on the environment,

including the significant environmental aspects of goods and services

used by the organisation.

4.4.7 Emergency preparedness 8.3 Control of non-conforming

product

ISO 9001 requires a procedure for dealing with non-conforming

products. The equivalent in ISO 14001 is how the organisation deals

with actual emergency situations and environmental accidents. In

addition, ISO 14001 requires an organisation to identify potential

emergency situations and accidents and a procedure for how it will

respond to them. The organisation is required to test its emergency

preparedness and response procedures.

4.5.1 Monitoring and

measurement

7.6 Control of monitoring and

measuring devices

8.1 (Measurement, analysis

and improvement) General

8.2.3 Monitoring and

measurement processes

8.2.4 Monitoring and

measurement of product

8.4 Analysis of data

ISO 14001 combines elements of these ISO 9001 clauses into one

requirement and focuses on measuring characteristics of operations

that have a significant impact on the environment. ISO 9001 is

more specific than ISO 14001 when it comes to the calibration

of equipment – with ISO 14001 only requiring that it is used and

maintained and records kept.

4.5.2 Evaluation of

compliance

8.2.3 Monitoring and

measurement processes

8.2.4 Monitoring and

measurement of product

These clauses of ISO 9001 focus on monitoring and measuring

the compliance of quality management system processes and the

product. ISO 14001 looks at monitoring and evaluating compliance

of its activities with the applicable legal requirements and other

requirements to which it subscribes.

ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 3

ISO 14001 and ISO 9001

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ISO 14001 and ISO 9001

ISO 14001 ISO 9001 Comments

4.5.3 Non-conformity,

corrective action

and preventive action

8.3 Control of non-conforming

product

8.4 Analysis of data

8.5.2 Corrective action

8.5.3 Preventive action

ISO 14001 combines the requirements of these ISO 9001

clauses into one clause focusing on the non-fulfilment of a

requirement that has an environmental impact as opposed to

non-conforming product.

4.5.4 Control of records 4.2.4 Control of records No significant differences.

4.5.5 Internal audit 8.2.2 Internal audit No significant difference.

4.6 Management review 5.1 Management commitment

5.6.1 (Management review)

General

5.6.2 Review input

5.6.3 Review output

8.5.1 Continual improvement

The management review requirements for ISO 14001 are very

similar to those defined in ISO 9001 – though ISO 9001 splits

the requirement into subclauses. For management review inputs,

ISO 14001 adds the requirement to review the extent to which

objectives have been met and evaluations of legal compliance and

developments in legal requirements.

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