Challenges in the implementation of ISO 14001

The greatest challenges in implementing the requirements of the ISO 14001 environmental management standard are found in Chapter 6 "Planning" and Chapter 8 "Operation". 62.5 percent of the companies have findings related to Chapter 6 and as many as 65 percent related to Chapter 8. For about 25 percent of the companies, these findings are deviations. Special attention should also be paid to Chapters 7, "Support," and 9, "Performance Evaluation." For Chapter 9, a total of 55.4 percent (23 percent deviations) of the companies receive findings. For Chapter 7, the total is 42.3 percent (about 11 percent discrepancies). These are - in summary - the results of an audit analysis by DNV, a global and independent certification, safety and risk management provider. The analysis is the second part of a mini-series for which DNV evaluated audit data for the ISO 9001 quality management standard in the first part and audit data for the ISO 14001 environmental management standard in the second part. This was based on 50,000 audit findings from 2021 from more than 10,000 customers worldwide. All data comes from the Lumina™ tool, a digital service that allows customers to analyze and compare audit data themselves.

Chapter 6 "Planning

In Chapter 6, "Planning," it is Subchapter 6.1, "Measures for Dealing with Risks and Opportunities," that causes the most challenges, accounting for nearly 56 percent of the registered findings, the analysis further notes. This is significantly more than in the ISO 9001 (Quality). The results of an earlier analysis of ISO 9001 audit data showed that only about 24 percent of the findings are attributable to this chapter. This difference is mainly due to the specific requirements of ISO 14001: 32 percent are attributable to subchapter 6.1.2 "Environmental aspects" and about 28 percent of the findings to chapter 6.1.3 "Binding commitments".

Chapter 8 "Operation

In Chapter 8 "Operations," the implementation core of ISO 14001, the companies record the highest number of findings overall. No less than 65 percent end the audit with at least one finding of non-conformity. For chapters 8.1 "Operational planning and control" and 8.2 "Emergency preparedness and response", almost 54 percent and 33 percent respectively receive findings requiring improvement.

"The results of the analysis are in line with my experience from audits and trainings," says Beatrice Maier, auditor and trainer at DNV. "It is tremendously important that all requirements are implemented already in the planning phase (Chapter 6). Because if this is not done, weaknesses will automatically arise in the implementation phase (Chapter 8) and the monitoring phase (Chapter 9). An example of this is the requirement in Chapter 6.1 that potential emergency situations must be identified, which must then also be assessed in terms of their risks. Chapter 8.2 requires that for the identified emergency situations, measures to avoid and control the emergency situation must be defined and trained," she explains further.

Further information

The complete Earnings Report can be downloaded free of charge from the website www.dnv.de/assurance can be downloaded. The report presents the findings and deviations per chapter. This gives users an indication of how their own performance compares with that of other companies and where special attention is required. Users can find out how a conscious approach to audit findings can contribute to the ongoing improvement process in a free Whitepaper "10 Tips for Handling Audit Results."