ISO 14001:2015
ISO 14001 certification for environmental management
Independent certification of how your organisation identifies, controls and reduces its environmental impact.
- Valid for
- 3 years
- Surveillance
- Years 1 and 2
- Verification
- Public register
Accredited and empanelled
What is ISO 14001?
ISO 14001 specifies requirements for an environmental management system. It asks an organisation to identify the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services, decide which are significant, meet its compliance obligations and set objectives that improve environmental performance.
We certify against ISO 14001:2015, including its 2024 climate change amendment. The 2015 edition introduced a life cycle perspective and closer links to strategy, so auditors expect environmental thinking to reach purchasing, design and outsourced processes, not only the waste area.
Customers, lenders and public authorities increasingly ask suppliers for evidence of environmental control. An accredited certificate provides it, and the audit itself often surfaces compliance gaps before a regulator does.
Who it is for
- Manufacturers with emissions, effluent or waste streams
- Construction, infrastructure and facilities contractors
- Logistics and transport operators
- Suppliers whose customers report on supply chain impacts
- Organisations extending an existing ISO 9001 system
What sets audit time and cost
Expect around eight to fourteen weeks from application to certification decision, longer if monitoring records need time to build up before Stage 2.
- Number of personnel and sites
- Environmental complexity category under IAF MD 5
- Number and type of permits and regulated activities
- Outsourced processes with significant aspects
- Integration with ISO 9001 or ISO 45001 audits
Why it matters
What ISO 14001 gives you
- 01
Compliance under control
A maintained register of legal and other requirements, with periodic evaluation of compliance, lowers the risk of permit breaches and enforcement.
- 02
Lower resource use
Monitoring of energy, water, materials and waste makes savings visible and keeps them from slipping back.
- 03
Credible environmental claims
Third-party certification supports sustainability statements to customers and investors with audited evidence.
- 04
Readiness for incidents
Tested emergency preparedness reduces the harm and cost of spills, releases and fires.
The audit
What our auditors examine
- 01
Aspects and impacts
How aspects were identified across normal, abnormal and emergency conditions, and the criteria used to decide which are significant.
- 02
Compliance obligations
Your register of legislation, permits and voluntary commitments, and the evidence that compliance with each is evaluated.
- 03
Life cycle perspective
Whether environmental requirements reach design, procurement, outsourced processes and end-of-life information, as far as you can control or influence them.
- 04
Operational control and emergencies
Controls at the points where significant aspects arise, and records of emergency response tests.
- 05
Monitoring and review
Measurement of environmental performance, calibrated equipment where results depend on it, internal audit and management review.
How certification works
Every accredited certificate follows the same three-year cycle, with each step recorded and the result published in our register.
01
Application and quote
Tell us your scope, sites and headcount. We calculate audit time under the accreditation rules and send a fixed quote and audit plan.
02
Stage 1 audit
We review your documented management system, scope and readiness, and agree the Stage 2 plan. Any gaps are reported so you can close them first.
03
Stage 2 audit
Auditors check that the system works in practice: interviews, records and observation across the scope. Nonconformities are raised in writing.
04
Certification decision
Once corrective actions are accepted, a reviewer who did not take part in the audit makes the decision. Your certificate is issued and listed in the public register.
05
Surveillance audits
Shorter audits in the first and second years after certification confirm the system is maintained and improving. The register shows your current status throughout.
06
Recertification
Before the three-year certificate expires, a recertification audit reviews the whole system and renews the certificate for another cycle.
Related standards and audits
Often certified or audited alongside this one, sometimes in a single combined audit.
ISO certification
ISO 9001
Independent assessment of your quality management system against ISO 9001:2015, by an accredited certification body.
ISO certification
ISO 45001
Independent certification that your organisation identifies hazards, controls risk and involves workers in keeping people safe.
ISO certification
ISO 50001
Independent certification of an energy management system that measures, controls and improves energy performance.
ISO certification
ISO 41001
Independent certification that facility services are aligned with the needs of the organisation and people they support.
Industries we audit for
Manufacturing
Accredited certification for the quality, environmental, safety and energy systems customers audit you against.
Food and beverage
Independent certification of the food safety controls your buyers, retailers and regulators expect to see.
Government and public sector
CERT-In empanelled audits and accredited certification for departments, public sector undertakings and their suppliers.
Guides
5 min read
Preparing for stage 1 and stage 2 certification audits
Initial certification happens in two stages: a readiness review and a full assessment of how the system works. Here is what each stage covers and how to prepare without overbuilding.
5 min read
Integrated management system audits
Organisations with more than one ISO certification can be audited against them together. This guide explains what an integrated audit shares, what still has to be assessed standard by standard, and how to prepare.
5 min read
Transferring your certification to a new certification body
You can move an accredited management system certification from one certification body to another without starting over. This guide explains who is eligible, what the pre-transfer review covers and what happens to your audit cycle.
ISO 14001 questions
We audit; we do not consult.
To keep certification independent, we never design, build or fix the systems we audit, and decisions are made by people who did not take part in the audit. Read our impartiality policy.
Plan your ISO 14001 certification
Tell us your scope, sites and timeline. We reply with an audit plan and a fixed quote.