Generic ISO 14001 EMS Template LR-01 presents a general framework for your reference to develop the register of legal and other requirements tailored for your business nature and operations. The procedure describes how your company identifies the requirements of these regulations and their applicability. In addition to identifying the different ways your organisation interact with the environment (environmental aspects), ISO 14001 also requires you to assess the impact each aspect has on the environment.
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ISO 14001:2015 Aspects and Their Impact: Waste Management
- Explain the environmental aspects and impacts of an organization. Construct a simple methodology for identifying aspects and determining impacts. Put the identification methods you learn into practice. Deliver to your organization an 'auditable' output that is conformant to the ANSI/ISO 14001: Standard.
- Nov 12, 2019 1. Learn about the business impacts and benefits of an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System 2. Learn about the elements of ISO 14001 related to risk 3. Understand how to establish a risk rating and determine ISO 14001 'Significant Environmental Aspects' 4. Discuss setting objectives for ISO 14001 to reduce environmental risk.
EHSQ Alliance Contributor
By Garry Cornell
Chapter 9 of The ISO 14001: 2015 Companion discusses managing typical environmental aspects and impacts of the standard. In Part 1 of our four-part series, author Garry Cornell examines the impact of waste.
ISO 14001 requires you to identify and reduce your environmental aspects. But what does this mean? What will auditors typically look for?
In truth, there is not just one answer. Different auditors will focus on different things. Chapter 9 gives some ideas about the sorts of issues that might come up, depending on what your business activities are. The chapter looks at common environmental aspects – such as waste, energy use and management, chemicals and plant and facilities maintenance – and briefly describes the controls and measures that can be put into place. This article examines the environmental impact of waste.
Waste
If waste is identified as a significant aspect at your facility, there are many things that can be done to reduce the environmental impacts. These make up the “waste hierarchy,” which is a preferred list of methods to manage waste, listed in order of best environmental options first:
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Waste elimination and minimization – Prioritize waste elimination above other measures. Look to eliminate waste within the process, from materials purchased, to on-site processes, to any waste arising from your business. Look for alternatives, such as having outer packaging removed by the vendor.
Reuse – Look for ways to reuse waste for another purpose. For example, if you receive packaging, can you reuse this packaging in your process or use it to send items out?
Recycling – Segregate waste that can be recycled, such as cardboard, wood, metal, glass and plastics from “general” waste. In some areas of the world, there are recycling options available for almost all waste types, including wet food waste. There are differences between countries and regions on how the waste can be collected – either segregated into different waste streams or collected together and sorted by the waste collector. Choose a waste contractor that can offer you the best recycling options for your waste. In many cases, segregated and “clean” recyclable waste has a value and can be sold, either to the waste collector or to another user.
Recovery – The waste is sent to recover the energy from it, usually by incineration, or through anaerobic digestion that generates heat (and soil).
Landfill – This is the least-favored environmental option, as the waste is simply dumped into the ground where it generates methane gases and contaminated “leachate” wastewater.
Organizations are now able to deal with their waste to achieve “zero-to-landfill.” This means waste is reused, recycled or recovered so nothing is disposed of to the landfill. This typically is achieved through good segregation and strong discipline in the organization, so people segregate waste correctly.
In most cases, having good operational control in place is essential for good waste management. Once you have found the best way to treat the waste, the next challenge is to get everyone to put the right waste in the right place. This is often more difficult than it sounds!
Writing how to deal with waste into operational procedures is one step, especially where there is good discipline to follow procedure. Good signage also helps – clearly labeling what should go into each receptacle, or even using pictures. Control over waste areas is also useful, with clear responsibility for waste storage areas that sometimes are left without a clear owner.
Click here to purchase the complete book, 'The ISO 14001:2015 Companion.'
Click here to purchase the complete book, 'The ISO 14001:2015 Companion.'
(Copyright ©2018 Advisera Expert Solutions)
About the author: Garry Cornell works with businesses to improve environmental management through training, auditing and advice. He has 25 years' experience working with some of the world's leading businesses and is the author of 'The ISO14001:2015 Companion.'
For additional information about ISO 14001: 2015:
Environment, ISO Standards
The Environmental Management System must manage all aspects which are found to be significant. Those not found to be significant do not need to be managed by the Environmental Management System. There is no single accepted method for evaluating significance. What is significant for one organization will not necessarily be significant to another. Determining which environmental impacts are significant does not require an “Environmental Impact Assessment” and taking a lifecycle approach does not require a full “Life Cycle Analysis” to be undertaken.
When determining which aspects are significant, the organization needs to adopt an approach that works for its specific circumstances considering its size, the site, and the natural of the business conducted. The approach taken should consider the significance of each aspect under the following circumstances:
- Normal operating conditions
- Abnormal operating conditions (e.g. start-up, shutdown, maintenance)
- Accidents and emergencies
- Past activities
- Planned activities
Environmental Aspects include:
- Emissions to air
- Releases to groundwater
- Releases to surface water
- Use of water
- Waste management and disposal
- Contamination of land
- Impact on communities
- Use of raw materials
- Use of energy
- Use of radioactive material
- Use of natural resources
When determining the environmental impact of each of the identified aspects consider:
- Existing controls
- Severity of the impact
- Frequency or probability of occurrence
- Duration of the impact
- Effect on public image
- Cost of changing the impact
- Difficulty of changing the impact
- Effect of change on other activities or processes
- Concerns over potential regulatory or legal exposure
- Concerns of interested parties
Aspect And Impact Register Iso 14001 Requirements Free
The organization may wish to determine impacts at local, regional, national or global scale. The assessment of significance needs to consider both past and future activities. E.g. the use of the site before the organization took ownership may have caused land contamination.
A register of significant environmental aspects is usually produced to meet the requirement to maintain documented information of environmental aspects and associated impacts and of significant environmental aspects. The register must be kept up to date, and will need to be reviewed periodically (e.g. annually) or when new aspects are identified; when processes are changed or in the event of an environmental incident, accident or emergency.
Register of Aspects and Impacts – Quick Check
Does the register of aspects and impacts register include:
Iso 14001 Significant Aspects
- All inputs to the organization’s activities, products or processes?
- All outputs to the organization’s activities, products or processes?
- All direct and indirect air emissions from activities, products or processes?
- All controlled and uncontrolled effluents from the organization’s activities, products or processes?
- The generation or disposal of solid and other waste associated with the organization’s activities, products or processes
- Any contamination of land as a result of the organization’s activities, products or processes?
- All uses of raw materials and natural resources associated with the organization’s activities, products or processes?
- All other discharges or emissions, such as heat, energy, noise, odour, dust, vibration or visual impact, associated with the organization’s activities, products or processes?
- All environmental issues of local or community relevance associated with the organization and its environmental performance?
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environmental aspects , Environmental Impacts , ISO 14001:2015 , PollutionRelated Posts
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