What does my company have to do to get started?

If you already have a Responsible Care® system and are certified to ISO 9001, you are in a very good position to develop an environmental management system that conforms to the requirements of ISO 14001. Development will take from six to 18 months. Cost will vary depending on the level of conformance of your existing systems. Eventually, you will come to the point where a decision needs to be made - to get certified or to simply remain compliant.

As with implementing any new system, the process begins with obtaining knowledge.

Start by obtaining copies of the applicable standards. These can be obtained from:

American National Standards Institute
25 West 43rd Street
4th Floor
New York, New York, 10036
Ph. 212-642-4900
Fx. 212-398-0023

Or

1819 L Street, NW, 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Ph 202-293-8020
Fx. 202-293-9287

It is highly recommend that one or more personnel receive training in the standard and auditing to the requirements. A recommended approach is to attend a two-day course on the requirements of ISO 14001, followed by attendance at the five-day, lead assessor course for environmental auditors.

If you are already certified to ISO 9001, strive to integrate the environmental management system into the existing quality system. If this is not practical, try to build upon the framework and structure of other existing business systems such as your safety and health management system.

One of the early steps is to perform a gap-analysis. You can develop your own checklists based on the courses you have attended. You can hire a consultant to assist you. You may even utilize the resources of an accredited registrar. However, remember that if you have selected a registrar to do your certification, this registrar will be forbidden from providing you with any advice regarding the development of your system. (They are, however, permitted to give you objective feedback regarding the level or conformance of your system. They can also answer general questions, provided they are not asked to support a particular approach.)

Based on the results of the gap-analysis, form a cross functional team to complete the design of the system. Do not delegate it to the environmental expert. This would ultimately prove to be a serious mistake. This person will certainly be a valuable resource. He or she may even be put in charge of the project. But it will take involvement of many personnel to define and effectively implement an environmental management system. One parallel step you can take is to get several personnel trained as internal auditors. These personnel can perform the gap-analysis and provide continuing feedback relative to the degree of readiness of the system.

Two of the most significant steps you will take are the development of the management policy and identification of the significant aspects. From this will flow the life-cycle analysis, establishment of targets and objectives, the means to monitor and measure, development of operational controls and your emergency response plan and the approach to management review.

Allow from six to 18 months to develop and implement your system before you consider applying for certification. It is good practice to have your system in operation, including the internal audits and management reviews for at least three months prior to the certification audit.

Cost will vary depending on your level of readiness. Even if you have on-site, environmental expertise, you will reap significant benefits if you seek professional assistance from a qualified consulting group. Remember, ISO 14001 is not a compliance document. It is a management system document. As such, your on-site technical expert may need assistance in developing the systems and procedures required to be in conformance with the overall requirements of the standard.

Choose SQA as your ISO 14001 Registrar

The decision to pursue ISO 14001 certification involves a substantial commitment of time and resources. Smithers Quality Assessments recognizes that this is a very personal decision requiring a solution tailored to your needs. To arrange for a SQA representative to review your certification needs, contact us at 330-762-4231 today.