Key takeaways
- 1ISO publishes the stage of every project on iso.org.
- 2The revision starts from ISO 14001:2015, and the requirements most likely to be discussed in any new text are the ones that already exist.
- 3Three things, in a fixed order.
ISO 14001 is under revision. Until the new edition is published, nothing about its content, its year or its transition arrangements is settled — and ISO 14001:2015 certificates remain exactly as valid as they were yesterday.
That is the whole status, and it is deliberately short. The rest of this article is about how to follow the revision without being misled, and what a certified organization can usefully do while it waits.
How to read the status yourself
ISO publishes the stage of every project on iso.org. Each project carries a stage code that tells you whether a draft is being written, is out for comment, is being voted on, or has been approved for publication. The page for the ISO 14001 revision is the one source that cannot be wrong about where the project is, because ISO maintains it.
What that page does not do is tell you the final text. Drafts change between stages. A requirement in a committee draft can be reworded, moved or removed before publication. Anyone quoting "the new clause 6.1.2" from a draft is quoting a document that has not been approved.
So the discipline is simple: read the stage on iso.org; wait for publication for the content.
What is already settled — because it is in the current edition
The revision starts from ISO 14001:2015, and the requirements most likely to be discussed in any new text are the ones that already exist. Two are worth re-reading now.
Environmental aspects. Clause 6.1.2 of the 2015 edition requires an organization to determine the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services that it can control and those it can influence, and their associated impacts — considering a life cycle perspective — and to determine which are significant. That is not new. A certified organization already has this, or should.
The life cycle perspective. The 2015 edition asks for it in the determination of aspects and in operational planning and control (clause 8.1), where the organization considers its environmental requirements across the stages it can control or influence. It does not require a life cycle assessment. It requires that the perspective be considered.
Whatever a new edition adds, it will be read against these. An organization that can show its aspects register is current and its life cycle thinking is documented is as well placed as a revision allows.
What happens when a new edition is published
Three things, in a fixed order.
Certificates to the 2015 edition remain valid. Publication of a new edition does not invalidate anything. The IAF publishes a transition arrangement for each revised management system standard, with a transition period counted from the publication date. Until that period ends, the 2015 edition is a valid basis for certification.
Transition happens at an audit. A surveillance audit, a recertification audit or a special audit, planned with the certification body. The audit focuses on the changes between the editions, not on re-auditing the whole system.
The certificate is reissued to the new edition once the transition audit is closed. If the period ends without a transition, certificates to the old edition are withdrawn — which is the deadline that matters, and it is set by the IAF arrangement, not by the certification body.
CAS will publish its transition arrangements for certified clients when the edition and the IAF period are known, and not before.
What to do now, and what not to do
Do re-read clauses 6.1.2 and 8.1 of the 2015 edition against your own system. That work will not be wasted whatever the new text says.
Do note the ISO project page and check it when you hear a rumour.
Do not commission work against "the new edition" while it is unpublished. There is no published text to work against. CAS does not provide consultancy in any case; this is a statement about timing, not a sales boundary.
Do not plan a transition date. There is nothing to transition to yet.
What this means for you
If you are certified to ISO 14001:2015: your certificate is valid and your next audit is unchanged. Keep the aspects register current.
If you are planning first certification: certify to the current edition. A certificate to ISO 14001:2015 issued now will be transitioned in the ordinary way when the time comes, at an audit you would be having anyway.
If you are a buyer: a supplier's ISO 14001:2015 certificate is a valid accredited certificate, and will remain one through any transition period the IAF sets.
CAS — An EGAC accredited MS certification body No. 012418. Accredited scope: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 22000, ISO 50001 and ISO 22301. Certificates accredited for ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, 22000 and 50001 fall within EGAC's IAF MLA scope; ISO 22301 is accredited by EGAC and sits outside that scope.
Verify any certificate: cas.com.eg/certsearch
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