This article outlines how to conduct and Impacts and Aspects Assessment for ISO 14001
ISO 14001 requires the organisation to determine the environmental aspects of its activities, product and services that it can control/influence and their associated environmental impacts. It also requires the organisation to maintain documented information on it environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts.
What is an environmental aspect?
ISO 14001 defines and environmental aspect as an 'element of an organization’s activities or products or services that interacts or can interact with the environment'. Examples include: electricity usage, water usage, transport. You can break these down further eg Electricity usage could be broken down into printing, lighting, air conditioning.
What is an environmental impact?
ISO 14001 defines and environmental impact as a 'change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organization’s environmental aspects' Examples include land pollution, air pollution or use of limited resources.
How do you conduct an Impact and Aspects Assessment?
When determining environmental aspects, all parts of the company's operations within the defined management system scope should be considered. The full lifecycle should be considered - thinking carefully about the life cycle stages that can be controlled or influenced by the company.
Typical stages that can be influenced by the company under the scope of certification:
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Material source, purchase and supply (such metals and plastics)
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Source of utilities
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Waste management (recycling opportunities)
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Equipment purchase and final disposal (look at re-use or recycling options)
Impact and Aspects Register
An Impacts and Aspects Register is the perfect way to document this assessment. An example template can be downloaded here.
Assessment steps:
- Describe the aspect
- Select the environmental impact(s) - (more can be added)
- Outline the method of measurement.
- Outline the source of the measurement
- Determine the significance of these aspects using the process of calculating Significance.
Frequency (probability) multiplied by Severity
- The assessment shall cover normal, abnormal situations including start-up and shut-down conditions as well as reasonably foreseeable emergency situations. Note: often, the significance does not change with abnormal or emergency situations.
- Outline any lifecycle considerations
- Cross-reference the aspects identified on the Aspect Register to legislation or other requirements identified on the Legal Register. Detail on the aspect register the operational controls required for each aspect to remain legally compliant and to meet other needs identified by the business. Operational control measures may refer to other procedures, instructions, method statements as required.
Review
The Impacts and Aspects register should be regularly reviewed and updated to take into account of planned, new or modified activities, products and services. For ISO 14001, this should be reviewed at every Management review meeting.
Typically the management review meeting would use the significance table to select which aspects shall be included in the environmental improvement programme and which are be subject to formal procedures. As a guide, aspects showing a significance high or very high should always be reviewed. Aspects with a low or medium impact should be actioned as the opportunity arises.