Revision of ISO 14001 - Environmental Management System

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published ISO 14001:2026 on 15 April.  

The new version replaces the 2015-edition of the standard, including the climate change amendment published in 2024.

What has changed?

One main frame condition decided for the update has been to clarify existing requirements associated with key topics, but to limit the introduction of new requirements. Another aim has been to align text with latest contents of ISO’s Harmonized Structure for management system standards.

Main proposed changes include but are not limited to:

• Climate change amendments (Clause 4.1.and 4.2):
  The climate change amendment introduced in 2024 (ref. ISO 14001:2015/Amd1:2024) is now included in the standard. However, in addition to climate change, also other environmental conditions are added for for the analysis of the organizational context, such as use of natural resources, pollution levels and biological diversity. These amendments maintains the  holistic environmental focus.
• Actions to address risks and opportunity (Clause 6.1):
  The text has been restructured with the aim to clarify existing requirements: Most of the text in 6.1.1 ‘General’ has been moved to a new clause 6.1.4 ‘Risks and opportunities’ and ‘Planning actions’ is updated and renumbered to 6.1.5.
• Environmental aspects (Clause 6.1.2):
  A new note is included to explain and strengthen the concept of lifecycle perspective in the environmental aspect process.
• Planning of changes (New clause 6.3):
  New clause added to ensure a structured approach for the management of changes that are relevant to the EMS.
• Operational planning and control (Clause 8.1):
  The focus is extended from the control of “outsourced processes” to control of “externally provided processes, products and services”.
• Improvement (Clause 10):
  Consolidation of clauses and renumbering. The content is quite similar.
• The guidance in Annex A has been substantially revised and improved for various clauses to support interpretation of the requirements in clause 4-10.

In addition, there are several textual changes to align with the Harmonized Structure.

The overall changes are quite moderate and are less extensive than the changes for transitioning to the 2015-edition.

Transition rules and timelines

The international association of accreditation bodies  defines the requirements and timeline for the transition to ISO 14001:2026. The transition period is set to 3 years. This means that all certificates issued to the 2015-edition need to be transitioned to the new edition before May 2029 to remain valid.

Preparing for implementation

We recommend you start preparing for the transition as early as possible and plan properly to incorporate needed changes into your management system.

Recommended steps for the transition:

• Get to know the changes of the revised standard as soon as possible, 
• Ensure that relevant personnel in your organization are trained and understand the changes and requirements.
• Identify gaps which need to be addressed to meet the changed requirements and plan for implementation
• Implement actions and update your management system as required.

How we can support

Once you start preparing to transition to the new version of ISO 14001, DNV can support your journey.
We will be able to support you with:

• Webinars to get an overview of the main changes and the transition process.
• Training where you learn more about the revisions and changes and how to tackle key areas to continually improve and build a high performing management system.
• Transition audit to move your certification in line with the new version of the standard.

We can support you every step of the way.