ISO 14001 and sustainable cities

 

Often organizations and cities turn to ISO 14001 as a solution only when they encounter major environmental pollution. ISO 14001 is implemented as corrective action to demonstrate to stakeholders that the organization is now taking a systemic approach to managing their environmental risks. Iso 14001 trainingwill enlighten those not familiar with the standard that IS 14001 when implemented pro-actively can benefit the organization in many ways from better perception to stakeholders, to reduced operating costs, to better compliance with regulations.

As sustainability becomes the new buzzword that cities associate with another standard also may prove useful, ISO 37101 – Requirements for Management system for sustainable development.  It addresses six key areas of sustainability for a city, namely, overall attractiveness, the preservation and improvement of the environment, resilience, responsible resource use, social cohesion, and the well-being of citizens. For the prevention of pollution of the environment however ISO 14001 remains the go to standard. ISO 14001 training introduces students to the requirements of the standard, how to interpret and apply the requirements to your organizations and the documents needed to ensure a good system.

ISO 14001 uses the Plan-Do-Check-Act approach to management systems and encourages the use of a lifecycle perspective when planning products and services to be offered by the organization. It also references the three pillars of sustainability. ISO 14001 training for all personnel will be needed when implementing the system so they are aware of the benefits of the system and the guy-in from personnel increase. This is important, perhaps as important as committed leadership. Both cannot do without the other when a successful system is needed.

ISO 14001 has aligned with the high-level structure prescribed for all ISO standards. It has a total of 10 clauses now and risk-based thinking is become a core part of the standard. The focus has changed from pollution prevention to environmental performance, risk-based thinking replaces preventive action and a host of other terminology changes have also been made to the standard. There is still a requirement to maintain a list of significant aspects/impacts and to take action to address them.

ISO 14001training will also be needed for the auditors to assess the effectiveness of the system. Several cities across the US have already implemented ISO 14001 in certain aspects of city operations. The benefits of these systems have been tracked and published as case studies. ISO 14001 allows organizations to self declare without pursuing certification. Implementing an ISO 14001 environmental management system may indeed be the first step for cities looking to become sustainable.