ISO 14001:2015 Clause 6.1.2 Environmental aspects

ISO 14001:2015 Requirements

Within the defined scope of the environmental management system, the organization shall determine the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services that it can control and those that it can influence, and their associated environmental impacts, considering a life cycle perspective.
When determining environmental aspects, the organization shall take into account:
a) change, including planned or new developments, and new or modified activities, products and services;
b) abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations.
The organization shall determine those aspects that have or can have a significant environmental impact, i.e. significant environmental aspects, by using established criteria.
The organization shall communicate its significant environmental aspects among the various levels and functions of the organization, as appropriate.
The organization shall maintain documented information of its:
— environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts;
— criteria used to determine its significant environmental aspects;
— significant environmental aspects.
NOTE Significant environmental aspects can result in risks and opportunities associated with either adverse environmental impacts (threats) or beneficial environmental impacts (opportunities).

As per Annex A (Guidance on the use of ISO 14001:2015 standard) of ISO 14001:2015 standard it further explains:

An organization determines its environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts, and determines those that are significant and, therefore, need to be addressed by its environmental management system. Changes to the environment, either adverse or beneficial, that result wholly or partially from environmental aspects are called environmental impacts. The environmental impact can occur at local, regional and global scales, and also can be direct, indirect or cumulative by nature. The relationship between environmental aspects and environmental impacts is one of cause and effect. When determining environmental aspects, the organization considers a life cycle perspective. This does not require a detailed life cycle assessment; thinking carefully about the life cycle stages that can be controlled or influenced by the organization is sufficient. Typical stages of a product (or service) life cycle include raw material acquisition, design, production, transportation/delivery, use, end-of- life treatment and final disposal. The life cycle stages that are applicable will vary depending on the activity, product or service. An organization needs to determine the environmental aspects within the scope of its environmental management system. It takes into account the inputs and outputs (both intended and unintended) that are associated with its current and relevant past activities, products and services; planned or new developments; and new or modified activities, products and services. The method used should consider normal and abnormal operating conditions, shut-down and start-up conditions, as well as the reasonably foreseeable emergency situations identified in 6.1.1. Attention should be paid to prior occurrences of emergency situations. For information on environmental aspects as part of managing change, see Clause A.1. An organization does not have to consider each product, component or raw material individually to determine and evaluate their environmental aspects; it may group or categorize activities, products and services when they have common characteristics. When determining its environmental aspects, the organization can consider:
a) emissions to air;
b) releases to water;
c) releases to land;
d) use of raw materials and natural resources;
e) use of energy;
f) energy emitted (e.g. heat, radiation, vibration (noise), light);
g) generation of waste and/or by-products;
h) use of space.
In addition to the environmental aspects that it can control directly, an organization determines whether there are environmental aspects that it can influence. These can be related to products and services used by the organization which are provided by others, as well as products and services that it provides to others, including those associated with (an) outsourced process(es). With respect to those an organization provides to others, it can have limited influence on the use and end-of-life treatment of the products and services. In all circumstances, however, it is the organization that determines the extent of control it is able to exercise, the environmental aspects it can influence, and the extent to which it chooses to exercise such influence. Consideration should be given to environmental aspects related to the organization’s activities, products and services, such as:
— design and development of its facilities, processes, products and services;
— acquisition of raw materials, including extraction;
— operational or manufacturing processes, including warehousing;
— operation and maintenance of facilities, organizational assets and infrastructure;
— environmental performance and practices of external providers;
— product transportation and service delivery, including packaging;
— storage, use and end-of-life treatment of products;
— waste management, including reuse, refurbishing, recycling and disposal.
There is no single method for determining significant environmental aspects, however, the method and criteria used should provide consistent results. The organization sets the criteria for determining its significant environmental aspects. Environmental criteria are the primary and minimum criteria for assessing environmental aspects. Criteria can relate to the environmental aspect (e.g. type, size, frequency) or the environmental impact (e.g. scale, severity, duration, exposure). Other criteria may also be used. An environmental aspect might not be significant when only considering environmental criteria. It can, however, reach or exceed the threshold for determining significance when other criteria are considered. These other criteria can include organizational issues, such as legal requirements or interested party concerns. These other criteria are not intended to be used to downgrade an aspect that is significant based on its environmental impact. A significant environmental aspect can result in one or more significant environmental impacts, and can therefore result in risks and opportunities that need to be addressed to ensure the organization can achieve the intended outcomes of its environmental management system.

1) Within the defined scope of the environmental management system, the organization shall determine the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services that it can control and those that it can influence, and their associated environmental impacts, considering a life cycle perspective.

Environmental aspects and their associated environmental impacts are fundamental concepts in environmental management. They are essential for identifying, assessing, and managing an organization’s environmental performance, particularly within an Environmental Management System (EMS) following ISO 14001:2015 or similar standards. Let’s define these terms:

1. Environmental Aspect: An environmental aspect is any element of an organization’s activities, products, or services that interacts with the environment. Environmental aspects can be positive or negative, significant or insignificant, and they may include:

Energy consumption
Water usage
Emissions of pollutants (e.g., greenhouse gases, air pollutants)
Generation of waste
Use of hazardous materials
Raw material extraction
Land use
Noise emissions
Biodiversity impact

For example, if you’re a manufacturer, one environmental aspect could be the electricity consumption in your production process. Another aspect could be the emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from your transportation activities.

2. Associated Environmental Impact: Environmental impacts are the consequences or effects on the environment resulting from environmental aspects. They can be beneficial or adverse and vary in their significance. Environmental impacts are typically categorized into different types, including:

Positive Impacts: These are environmentally beneficial effects. For example, if a company reduces its water usage by implementing water-saving measures, the associated environmental impact would be a positive one—less strain on local water resources.
Adverse Impacts: These are harmful effects on the environment. For instance, if a manufacturing plant emits air pollutants during its production process, the associated environmental impact would be adverse—air pollution leading to poor air quality and potential harm to human health and ecosystems.

1. Environmental Aspect: Energy Consumption

Associated Environmental Impact:
- Adverse Impact: Increased greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint due to the burning of fossil fuels for energy generation.
- Adverse Impact: Resource depletion of non-renewable energy sources (e.g., coal, natural gas, oil).

2. Environmental Aspect: Water Usage

Associated Environmental Impact:
- Adverse Impact: Depletion of local water resources, potentially affecting aquatic ecosystems and neighboring communities.
- Positive Impact: Conservation of water resources through efficient usage, leading to reduced stress on local watersheds.

3. Environmental Aspect: Air Emissions

Associated Environmental Impact:
- Adverse Impact: Air pollution with emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter, leading to smog formation and respiratory health issues.
- Positive Impact: Adoption of emission control technologies reduces air pollutants, improving air quality and public health.

4. Environmental Aspect: Waste Generation

Associated Environmental Impact:
- Adverse Impact: Increased landfill waste, contributing to landfill space shortage and potential groundwater contamination.
- Positive Impact: Implementation of recycling and waste reduction programs diverts waste from landfills, conserving resources and reducing pollution.

5. Environmental Aspect: Chemical Usage

Associated Environmental Impact:
- Adverse Impact: Release of hazardous chemicals into the environment can lead to soil and water pollution, harming ecosystems and human health.
- Positive Impact: Substitution of hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives reduces the risk of environmental contamination and exposure.

6. Environmental Aspect: Raw Material Extraction

Associated Environmental Impact:
- Adverse Impact: Habitat destruction, deforestation, and biodiversity loss due to the extraction of raw materials from natural ecosystems.
- Positive Impact: Sustainable sourcing and responsible extraction practices can minimize habitat disruption and support biodiversity conservation.

7. Environmental Aspect: Land Use

Associated Environmental Impact:
- Adverse Impact: Conversion of natural habitats into urban or industrial areas can lead to habitat loss, fragmentation, and disruption of ecosystems.
- Positive Impact: Proper land management practices and land restoration efforts can mitigate the adverse effects on ecosystems and support biodiversity.

8. Environmental Aspect: Noise Emissions

Associated Environmental Impact:
- Adverse Impact: Noise pollution from industrial processes can disrupt wildlife habitats, affect human health, and lead to stress and annoyance in nearby communities.
- Positive Impact: Noise reduction measures and noise control technologies can minimize the impact of noise emissions on the environment and human well-being.

Determining the environmental aspects of activities, products, and services that an organization can control or influence, along with their associated environmental impacts, is a critical step in environmental management and compliance with ISO 14001:2015 and other environmental standards. Here’s how organizations can go about this process:

Define the Scope: Clearly define the scope of your organization’s operations, activities, products, and services. This should include all relevant aspects of your organization’s business operations.
Identify Activities, Products, and Services: Create a comprehensive list of all activities, products, and services associated with your organization’s scope. This list should cover everything from manufacturing processes to administrative functions and the entire product life cycle.
Identify Environmental Aspects:
- For each activity, product, or service, identify the environmental aspects. These are elements of the activity, product, or service that can interact with the environment. This may include energy consumption, raw material usage, emissions, waste generation, water usage, and more.
- Consider all stages of the life cycle, from design and production to distribution, use, and disposal.
Determine Control and Influence: For each environmental aspect identified, assess whether your organization has control or influence over it. This distinction is crucial as it helps in setting priorities and establishing areas of responsibility.
- Control: Your organization has the direct ability to change or manage the aspect. For example, you can control energy consumption through efficiency measures in your facilities.
- Influence: Your organization has the capacity to affect the aspect, but you may not have direct control over it. For example, you can influence suppliers to adopt sustainable practices.
Identify Associated Environmental Impacts: For each controlled or influenced environmental aspect, determine the environmental impacts. These are the specific consequences or effects on the environment that result from the aspect. For example:
- Energy consumption (impact: resource depletion and greenhouse gas emissions)
- Emissions of pollutants (impact: air and water quality)
- Raw material usage (impact: resource depletion and habitat destruction)
Document the Results: Record your findings in a structured manner, typically in an environmental aspect and impact register or matrix. Include details such as the name of the aspect, whether it’s controlled or influenced, the associated impact, and the significance of the aspect.
Assess Significance: Evaluate the significance of each environmental aspect and impact. Significance may be determined by factors such as the potential environmental impact, legal requirements, stakeholder concerns, and business risks.
Prioritize Actions: Prioritize the aspects and impacts based on their significance. High-significance aspects should receive more attention in your environmental management plan, including the establishment of environmental objectives and targets.
Engage Stakeholders: Engage with relevant stakeholders, both internal and external, to ensure you have a comprehensive understanding of the aspects and impacts and to gain their input and perspectives.
Review and Update: Regularly review and update your assessment as your organization evolves, new aspects emerge, or external factors change. This process should be integrated into your EMS’s continual improvement cycle.

By following these steps, organizations can effectively identify and evaluate the environmental aspects of their activities, products, and services that they can control or influence, as well as the associated environmental impacts. This information forms the basis for informed decision-making and the development of effective environmental management strategies.

2) While determining environmental aspect and its associated environmental impact the organization must consider considering a life cycle perspective.

Considering a life cycle perspective is a crucial aspect of identifying and assessing environmental aspects and their associated impacts within an organization’s operations, products, or services. A life cycle perspective involves examining the environmental aspects and impacts of a product or activity throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction and production to use, disposal, and end-of-life treatment. This approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of the environmental footprint associated with an organization’s operations. Here’s how an organization can incorporate a life cycle perspective into its assessment:

1. Identify Life Cycle Stages: Recognize and define the various stages of the life cycle for your product, service, or activity. Common stages include:

Raw material extraction: Sourcing and extraction of materials or resources.
Production: Manufacturing or creation of the product or service.
Transportation and distribution: Movement of products to customers or end-users.
Use: The period during which the product or service is utilized.
End-of-life: Disposal, recycling, or treatment of waste generated from the product or service.

2. Identify Environmental Aspects at Each Stage: For each life cycle stage, identify the environmental aspects associated with it. These aspects can include energy consumption, emissions, resource use, and waste generation.

3. Assess Associated Environmental Impacts: Determine the environmental impacts related to each identified aspect at every life cycle stage. Consider the consequences and effects on the environment, both positive and negative.

4. Quantify and Evaluate Impacts: Whenever possible, quantify the environmental impacts using appropriate metrics or indicators. Evaluate the significance of these impacts based on their magnitude, duration, and potential harm to the environment.

5. Compare Alternative Options: Assess alternative processes, materials, or technologies at each life cycle stage to identify opportunities for reducing negative impacts or enhancing positive ones. This may involve life cycle assessments (LCAs) or similar tools.

6. Integrate Findings into Decision-Making: Use the insights gained from the life cycle perspective to inform decision-making processes. This can include product design, process improvement, procurement choices, and waste management strategies.

7. Set Objectives and Targets: Develop environmental objectives and targets that address the identified environmental aspects and impacts, with consideration of the entire life cycle.

8. Communicate with Stakeholders: Share relevant information regarding the life cycle perspective and its findings with stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities.

By adopting a life cycle perspective, organizations gain a more comprehensive understanding of their environmental impact, which can lead to more informed and sustainable decision-making. This approach helps identify opportunities for reducing environmental harm, optimizing resource use, and improving the overall sustainability of products, services, and operations. It also aligns with the principles of environmental responsibility and life cycle thinking advocated by environmental standards like ISO 14001:2015.

3) When determining environmental aspects, the organization shall take into account change, including planned or new developments, and new or modified activities, products and services

when determining environmental aspects as part of an Environmental Management System (EMS) or environmental planning process, organizations should consider changes, including planned or new developments, as well as new or modified activities, products, and services. This proactive approach ensures that potential environmental impacts arising from changes are identified and managed effectively. Here’s how organizations can incorporate this consideration:

1. Change Management Process:

Establish a robust change management process within your organization. This process should include mechanisms for identifying, assessing, and implementing changes to activities, products, and services.

2. Identify Planned or New Developments:

Keep track of any planned developments or expansion of existing operations. These could include new manufacturing facilities, product lines, or services.
Include future projects or initiatives in your assessment, even before they are implemented.

3. Assess Potential Environmental Aspects:

For each planned or new development, assess the potential environmental aspects and impacts associated with the project. This assessment should cover all stages of the project’s life cycle.
Consider the sourcing of raw materials, production processes, transportation, use, and end-of-life disposal or treatment.

4. New or Modified Activities, Products, and Services:

When introducing new or modified activities, products, or services, conduct a thorough assessment of their potential environmental aspects and impacts.
Identify changes in resource consumption, emissions, waste generation, and any associated risks or opportunities.

5. Involve Relevant Stakeholders:

Engage with relevant stakeholders, both internal and external, in the change management process. Seek their input and feedback regarding potential environmental aspects and impacts.
Consider input from employees, suppliers, regulatory authorities, and local communities.

6. Include Changes in Environmental Register:

Ensure that any identified environmental aspects and impacts resulting from planned or new developments or modified activities, products, and services are included in your organization’s environmental aspect and impact register.

7. Mitigation and Prevention:

Develop strategies and action plans to mitigate or prevent adverse environmental impacts associated with changes. These plans may involve adopting cleaner technologies, enhancing resource efficiency, or implementing pollution control measures.

8. Review and Monitoring:

Continuously monitor and review the environmental performance of new developments or modified activities, products, and services. Use this information to make adjustments and improvements as needed.

9. Document the Process:

Maintain clear records of the change management process, including assessments, action plans, and reviews. This documentation will be essential for compliance and demonstrating due diligence.

By considering changes and their potential environmental aspects and impacts, organizations can proactively manage and minimize any adverse effects while also identifying opportunities for sustainable growth and innovation. This aligns with the principles of continual improvement and environmental responsibility embedded in environmental management standards like ISO 14001:2015.

4) When determining environmental aspects, the organization shall take into account abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations

When determining environmental aspects as part of an Environmental Management System (EMS) or environmental planning process, organizations must consider abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations. This is a crucial aspect of risk management and ensuring environmental preparedness. Here’s how organizations can incorporate this consideration:

1. Identify Abnormal Conditions and Emergency Situations:

Review and assess your organization’s operations, activities, products, and services to identify potential abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations.
Abnormal conditions can include equipment failures, process upsets, or human errors that might result in environmental incidents.
Emergency situations can encompass natural disasters, fires, chemical spills, power outages, or other events that could lead to environmental emergencies.

2. Assess Potential Environmental Aspects and Impacts:

For each identified abnormal condition or emergency situation, assess the potential environmental aspects and impacts.
Consider the nature and severity of these impacts, including effects on air quality, water quality, soil contamination, wildlife, human health, and regulatory compliance.

3. Develop Response Plans:

Develop and maintain response plans and procedures for managing abnormal conditions and emergency situations. These plans should include steps to mitigate or minimize environmental impacts.
Ensure that these plans are integrated with your organization’s overall emergency response and business continuity plans.

4. Training and Awareness:

Provide appropriate training and awareness programs for employees and stakeholders to ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities during abnormal conditions and emergency situations.
Conduct drills and exercises to test the effectiveness of response plans and to prepare personnel for real-life scenarios.

5. Document and Communicate:

Document all aspects of your organization’s preparedness and response efforts. Maintain records of drills, incident reports, and corrective actions taken.
Communicate your organization’s preparedness to relevant stakeholders, including employees, emergency responders, and regulatory authorities.

6. Continual Improvement:

Continuously review and update your preparedness plans and response procedures based on lessons learned from actual incidents, drills, and changes in operations.

7. Compliance and Reporting:

Ensure that you remain compliant with all relevant environmental regulations and reporting requirements, especially in the event of an environmental incident or emergency.

By considering abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations, organizations can better protect the environment, minimize adverse impacts, and enhance their overall environmental performance. This approach also contributes to ensuring the safety of employees and the communities in which the organization operates. It aligns with the principles of environmental responsibility and risk management embedded in environmental management standards like ISO 14001:2015.

5) The organization shall determine those aspects that have or can have a significant environmental impact, i.e. significant environmental aspects, by using established criteria.

Organizations are required to determine significant environmental aspects by using established criteria as part of their Environmental Management System (EMS) and in accordance with standards such as ISO 14001:2015. Determining significant environmental aspects is a crucial step in prioritizing environmental management efforts. Here’s how organizations can approach this:

1. Define and Establish Criteria:

Begin by defining and establishing criteria for assessing the significance of environmental aspects. These criteria should be clear, specific, and tailored to your organization’s context and objectives.
Common criteria may include potential environmental impact, legal requirements, stakeholder concerns, business risks, and operational controls.

2. Identify Environmental Aspects:

Identify all environmental aspects associated with your organization’s activities, products, and services. These aspects can include energy consumption, emissions, water use, waste generation, chemical usage, and more.

3. Assess Environmental Aspects:

Use the established criteria to assess each environmental aspect. Consider factors such as:
- Potential Environmental Impact: Evaluate the extent of the environmental impact associated with each aspect. Consider factors like pollution potential, resource consumption, and habitat disruption.
- Legal and Regulatory Requirements: Determine whether any local, national, or international laws and regulations apply to specific aspects.
- Stakeholder Concerns: Consider the concerns and expectations of internal and external stakeholders, including employees, customers, neighbors, and environmental advocacy groups.
- Business Risks: Evaluate the potential risks associated with each aspect, including reputational, financial, and operational risks.
- Operational Controls: Examine the effectiveness of existing controls and management practices for each aspect.

4. Score or Rank Aspects:

Assign scores or ranks to each environmental aspect based on the assessment criteria. This helps in quantifying their significance.
You can use numerical scales (e.g., 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest) or other scoring methods depending on your criteria.

5. Determine Significance:

Based on the scores or ranks, determine which environmental aspects are significant. Typically, aspects with the highest scores or ranks are considered significant.
Document the significant aspects clearly in your EMS records.

6. Prioritize Significant Aspects:

Once you’ve identified significant aspects, prioritize them according to their importance. High-significance aspects should receive more attention in terms of management, control, and improvement efforts.

7. Set Objectives and Targets:

Based on the significance assessment, establish environmental objectives and targets to address the most significant aspects. These objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

8. Monitor and Review:

Continuously monitor and review the significance of environmental aspects, especially when there are changes in operations, regulations, or stakeholder concerns.

9. Communicate and Engage:

Ensure that relevant stakeholders, both internal and external, are informed about the significant aspects and the organization’s efforts to manage them.

By using established criteria to determine significant environmental aspects, organizations can focus their resources and efforts on the most critical environmental issues, which supports effective environmental management and sustainability goals.

6) Establishing criteria to determine significant aspects

Establishing criteria to determine significant environmental aspects is a critical step in the Environmental Management System (EMS) and is essential for prioritizing environmental management efforts effectively. The specific criteria you establish will depend on your organization’s context, objectives, and the nature of your operations. Here’s a systematic approach to help you establish these criteria:

1. Identify Relevant Factors: Begin by identifying the factors that are most relevant to your organization’s environmental performance and objectives. These may include:

Potential Environmental Impact: Consider the extent of the impact an aspect may have on the environment. Assess factors like pollution potential, resource consumption, habitat disruption, and ecosystem health.
Legal and Regulatory Requirements: Identify any local, national, or international laws and regulations that pertain to specific environmental aspects. Compliance with these requirements is often a key criterion for significance.
Stakeholder Concerns: Consider the concerns and expectations of internal and external stakeholders. Stakeholders may include employees, customers, neighbors, environmental advocacy groups, and regulatory authorities.
Business Risks: Evaluate the potential risks associated with each aspect. These risks can encompass financial, operational, and reputational risks. Consider how each aspect might affect your organization’s ability to meet its goals.
Operational Controls: Examine the effectiveness of existing controls and management practices for each aspect. An aspect may be considered significant if it lacks adequate controls.

2. Define Scoring or Ranking Methods: Determine how you will score or rank each aspect based on the identified criteria. Depending on your organization’s needs and preferences, you can use various methods, such as numerical scales, qualitative descriptors (e.g., high, medium, low), or a combination of both. For example, you might use a numerical scale from 1 to 5, with 5 indicating the highest significance. Criteria with higher scores are considered more significant.

3. Weighting of Criteria (Optional): In some cases, you may want to assign different weights to each criterion to reflect their relative importance. This allows you to emphasize certain factors over others when assessing significance.

4. Consult Stakeholders: Seek input from relevant stakeholders, including environmental experts within your organization, employees, regulatory authorities, and community members. Their perspectives can provide valuable insights into the criteria and their relative importance.

5. Develop a Clear Scoring System: Document the criteria and scoring system in a clear and easily understandable format. This ensures consistency and transparency in the significance assessment process.

6. Pilot Test the Criteria: Before implementing the criteria organization-wide, consider conducting a pilot test with a small sample of aspects to ensure that the criteria yield meaningful results and align with your organization’s goals.

7. Continuously Review and Update: The criteria for determining significant aspects should not be static. Regularly review and update them to account for changes in your organization’s operations, regulations, and stakeholder concerns.

8. Document the Criteria: Document the established criteria in your EMS documentation, such as your environmental aspect and impact register or associated policy documents.

By following this systematic approach and customizing your criteria to your organization’s unique context, you can effectively determine significant environmental aspects and prioritize your efforts to manage them, leading to improved environmental performance and sustainability. Here are examples of how an organization might establish significant environmental aspects using specific criteria:

1. Potential Environmental Impact Criteria:

Criteria: The potential for an environmental aspect to cause significant harm to the environment is determined by assessing factors such as the volume or magnitude of emissions, resource consumption, or waste generation.
Example: An organization operates a chemical manufacturing facility. To establish the significance of emissions as an environmental aspect, it considers the volume of hazardous air pollutants released into the atmosphere annually. If the emissions exceed a certain threshold defined in regulatory limits or internal environmental objectives, it is deemed significant.

2. Legal and Regulatory Criteria:

Criteria: An environmental aspect is considered significant if it is subject to specific legal or regulatory requirements that impose obligations on the organization.
Example: A food processing company identifies the use of a specific chemical in its production process. If this chemical is regulated by environmental laws due to its potential environmental and health risks, it is deemed significant from a legal compliance perspective.

3. Stakeholder Concerns Criteria:

Criteria: The organization assesses the significance of an environmental aspect by considering the concerns and expectations of internal and external stakeholders, including employees, customers, local communities, and environmental advocacy groups.
Example: An energy utility company takes into account feedback from local residents and environmental NGOs. If there is widespread community concern about the visual impact of high-voltage power lines on the local landscape, this aspect may be considered significant due to stakeholder concerns.

4. Business Risks Criteria:

Criteria: An environmental aspect is deemed significant if it poses substantial risks to the organization’s business operations, finances, or reputation.
Example: An oil and gas company operating in a region prone to earthquakes and tsunamis assesses the risk of a major seismic event affecting its offshore drilling operations. If such an event could result in significant financial losses and damage to the company’s reputation, it is considered a significant aspect.

5. Operational Controls Criteria:

Criteria: The organization evaluates the significance of an environmental aspect by considering the effectiveness of existing controls and management practices in place to mitigate its impact.
Example: An automotive manufacturing plant assesses the effectiveness of its wastewater treatment system for reducing contaminants in discharged water. If the system consistently fails to meet permit limits, the aspect of wastewater discharge is considered significant due to inadequate operational controls.

6. Weighted Criteria:

Criteria: An organization assigns different weights to its criteria to reflect their relative importance. The sum of the weighted scores determines the significance of an aspect.
Example: A construction company assigns a higher weight to criteria related to legal compliance and stakeholder concerns in its assessment process. As a result, aspects that score high on these criteria are considered more significant, even if their potential environmental impact is relatively low.

7) The organization shall communicate its significant environmental aspects among the various levels and functions of the organization, as appropriate.

Effective communication of significant environmental aspects is a crucial element of an Environmental Management System (EMS) in line with ISO 14001:2015 and other environmental management standards. It ensures that all relevant levels and functions within the organization are aware of and understand these significant aspects, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility and enabling coordinated efforts to manage them. Here’s how organizations can fulfill this requirement:

Identify and Document Significant Environmental Aspects: Before communication can begin, the organization must first identify and document its significant environmental aspects based on the criteria established. Create a clear and comprehensive list or register of these aspects, including details such as their names, descriptions, associated environmental impacts, and the reasons for their significance.
Develop a Communication Plan:Establish a formal communication plan or strategy outlining how the organization will effectively communicate its significant environmental aspects to various levels and functions. Define the frequency, methods, and responsible parties for communication.
Determine the Appropriate Audience: Consider the different levels and functions within the organization that should be informed about these aspects. This may include senior management, operational teams, environmental coordinators, and other relevant personnel.
Tailor Communication Methods:Adapt communication methods to suit the needs and preferences of each audience. Different stakeholders may require different levels of detail and different formats for information.
Integrate into Training and Awareness Programs:Include information about significant environmental aspects in training and awareness programs. Ensure that employees and stakeholders understand the importance of these aspects and their role in addressing them.
Document Communication: Keep records of the communication efforts. Document when and how significant environmental aspects were communicated, who received the information, and any feedback or responses received.
Foster Engagement and Feedback:Encourage engagement and feedback from employees and relevant functions. This can lead to valuable insights and ideas for managing and improving significant aspects.
Periodic Reviews:Regularly review and update the communication plan to ensure it remains effective and relevant as the organization evolves or as new significant aspects emerge.
Monitor Understanding and Compliance:Assess the effectiveness of communication efforts by monitoring the understanding of significant aspects and the degree to which relevant functions are complying with environmental objectives and targets related to these aspects.
Continual Improvement:Use feedback and insights gained from communication efforts to drive continual improvement in managing and addressing significant environmental aspects.

By effectively communicating significant environmental aspects throughout the organization, an organization can promote environmental awareness, responsibility, and commitment at all levels. This, in turn, enhances its ability to manage these aspects and achieve its environmental goals effectively.

8) The organization shall maintain documented information of its environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts; criteria used to determine its significant environmental aspects; and significant environmental aspects.

Maintaining documented information related to environmental aspects and associated impacts, criteria for determining significant environmental aspects, and the list of significant environmental aspects is a key requirement under ISO 14001:2015 and other environmental management standards. This documentation helps ensure transparency, consistency, and compliance within the organization. Here’s how to meet this requirement:

Documented Information on Environmental Aspects and Impacts: Create and maintain records or documentation that list all identified environmental aspects and their associated environmental impacts. This document, often referred to as an “environmental aspect and impact register” or “environmental inventory,” should include the following details for each aspect:
- Aspect name and description.
- Associated environmental impact(s).
- Significance assessment, if applicable.
- Any relevant operational controls or mitigation measures.
Criteria for Determining Significant Environmental Aspects: Document the criteria used by your organization to determine the significance of environmental aspects. This can include numerical scoring systems, qualitative descriptors, or any other method used for assessment. Clearly state how these criteria are applied and what thresholds are used to define significance.
List of Significant Environmental Aspects:Maintain a documented list of significant environmental aspects. This list should clearly identify which aspects have been deemed significant according to the established criteria. Include details such as the names of the significant aspects and the reasons for their significance.

Aspect Name	Aspect Description	Associated Environmental Impacts	Significance Assessment	Operational Controls or Mitigation Measures
Energy Consumption	Electricity usage in HQ	Greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion	Medium	– Implement energy-efficient lighting
		Energy costs, operational efficiency		– Establish energy-saving policies
				– Conduct regular energy audits
Water Usage	Water consumption in Plant	Water resource depletion, wastewater generation	High	– Invest in water-saving equipment
		Water costs, regulatory compliance		– Implement water recycling systems
				– Monitor water quality and usage
Chemical Usage	Solvents in manufacturing	Air emissions, chemical spills, waste disposal	High	– Substitution of hazardous chemicals
		Health and safety risks		– Safe storage and handling practices
				– Emergency response plans for spills
Waste Generation	Solid waste from operations	Landfill usage, disposal costs, environmental	Low	– Waste segregation and recycling programs
		compliance		– Reduction of non-recyclable materials
				– Periodic waste audits and tracking

ISO 14001:2015 Clause 6.1.2 Environmental aspects

ISO 14001:2015 Requirements

2) While determining environmental aspect and its associated environmental impact the organization must consider considering a life cycle perspective.

3) When determining environmental aspects, the organization shall take into account change, including planned or new developments, and new or modified activities, products and services

4) When determining environmental aspects, the organization shall take into account abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations

5) The organization shall determine those aspects that have or can have a significant environmental impact, i.e. significant environmental aspects, by using established criteria.

6) Establishing criteria to determine significant aspects

7) The organization shall communicate its significant environmental aspects among the various levels and functions of the organization, as appropriate.

Other documents and records required for this clause are

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ISO 14001:2015 Requirements

2) While determining environmental aspect and its associated environmental impact the organization must consider considering a life cycle perspective.

3) When determining environmental aspects, the organization shall take into account change, including planned or new developments, and new or modified activities, products and services

4) When determining environmental aspects, the organization shall take into account abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations

5) The organization shall determine those aspects that have or can have a significant environmental impact, i.e. significant environmental aspects, by using established criteria.

6) Establishing criteria to determine significant aspects

7) The organization shall communicate its significant environmental aspects among the various levels and functions of the organization, as appropriate.

Other documents and records required for this clause are

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