ISO 14000 is a family of voluntary standards developed by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO). ISO 14000 is just one standard from thousands of uniform standards that cover everything from film speed to manufacturing quality.

The ISO 14000 standards address several approaches to managing and protecting the environment.  The ISO 14000 standards cover a broad array of environmental disciplines include EMS, auditing, performance evaluation, product labeling, life cycle assessment and product standards.  The standards are listed below:

ISO14000 standards

Standard

 Title
14001 Environmental Management Systems – Specification With Guidance For Use
14004 Environmental Management Systems – General Guidelines On Principles, Systems And Supporting Techniques
14010 Guidelines For Environmental Auditing – General Principles
14011 Guidelines For Environmental Auditing – Audit Procedures: Audit Of Environment Management Systems
14012 Guidelines For Environmental Auditing – Qualification Criteria For Environmental Auditors
14020 Environmental Labels And Declarations – General Principles
14040 Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment: Principles And Framework
14041 Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment: Goal And Scope Definition And Inventory Analysis
14050 Environmental Management - Vocabulary

ISO14001 is a component of ISO 14000 and is the EMS standard.  The other standards are guidance documents to help you in your environmental program.

ISO 14001 has seventeen components.  The table below lists the components and the comparable EFEC element:

ISO 14001 Element EFEC
statement of environmental policy required
procedures to identify and consider environmental aspects Facility Impact Analysis
procedures to identify and gain access to legal and other requirements should be incorporated into environmental policy
environmental objectives and targets objectives required
environmental management programs for achieving the objectives and targets not required
defined structure and responsibility should be identified
procedures for ensuring employee training, awareness and competence required
procedures for internal (and possibly external) communication required
description of and directions to all EMS documentation not required
procedures for document control not required
procedures and criteria for operational control not required
procedures for emergency preparedness and response required
documented procedures for monitoring and measurement required
procedures for corrective and preventive actions required
procedures for identifying, maintaining and disposing of environmental records not required
programs and procedures for periodic EMS audits incorporated into measurement step
provision for regular management reviews of the EMS incorporated into measurement step