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Analyze environmental aspects using established criteria.


CONTROL ID
15230
CONTROL TYPE
Process or Activity
CLASSIFICATION
Detective

SUPPORTING AND SUPPORTED CONTROLS



This Control directly supports the implied Control(s):
  • Establish, implement, and maintain an environmental management system., CC ID: 14945

This Control has the following implementation support Control(s):
  • Document the criteria used to determine the environmental aspects., CC ID: 15181
  • Take into account emergency situations when determining environmental aspects., CC ID: 15180
  • Take into account abnormal conditions when determining environmental aspects., CC ID: 15179
  • Include the organization's significant environmental aspects in the environmental management system., CC ID: 15176
  • Disseminate and communicate the environmental aspects to interested personnel and affected parties., CC ID: 14983


SELECTED AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS COMPLIED WITH



  • The organization shall determine those aspects that have or can have a significant environmental impact, i.e. significant environmental aspects, by using established criteria. (§ 6.1.2 ¶ 3, ISO 14001:2015 - Environmental management systems — Requirements with guidance for use, Third Edition)
  • As there is no single approach for determining environmental aspects and environmental impacts and determining significance that suit all organizations, the guidance in 6.1.2.5 serves to explain key concepts for those organizations seeking to implement or improve an environmental management system. … (6.1.2.1 ¶ 4, ISO 14004:2016, Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, Third Edition)
  • In order to establish an effective environmental management system, an organization should develop its understanding of how it can interact with the environment, including the elements of its activities, products and services that can have an environmental impact (see 6.1.2.2). The elements of the o… (6.1.2.1 ¶ 1, ISO 14004:2016, Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, Third Edition)
  • environmental aspects (see 6.1.2); (6.1.1 ¶ 4(a), ISO 14004:2016, Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, Third Edition)
  • Since the organization can have many environmental aspects and associated environmental impacts, it should establish criteria and a method to determine those that it considers significant. Criteria can relate to the environmental aspect (e.g. type, size, frequency) or the environmental impact (e.g. … (6.1.2.5 ¶ 2, ISO 14004:2016, Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, Third Edition)
  • its significant environmental aspects (and information developed in determining them); (6.2.2 ¶ 1 Bullet 2, ISO 14004:2016, Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, Third Edition)
  • When determining its environmental aspects within the scope of its environmental management system, the organization should consider a life cycle perspective and those aspects associated with its past, current and planned activities, products and services. In all cases, the organization should consi… (6.1.2.3 ¶ 1, ISO 14004:2016, Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, Third Edition)
  • The organization can find it useful to evaluate the significance of an environmental aspect and associated environmental impacts by combining results from the criteria. It should decide which environmental aspects are significant, e.g. by using a threshold value. However, if such an approach is appl… (6.1.2.5 ¶ 4, ISO 14004:2016, Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, Third Edition)
  • In addition to those environmental aspects the organization can control directly, it should also consider aspects that it can influence, e.g. those related to products and services used by the organization and those related to products and services it provides. When evaluating its ability to influen… (6.1.2.3 ¶ 2, ISO 14004:2016, Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation, Third Edition)
  • Check: Monitor and measure the effectiveness of processes, considering the organization's policy commitments, planned actions, objectives and operating criteria, and report the results. (§ 5.1 ¶ 6 Bullet 3, ISO 14005:2019, Environmental management systems — Guidelines for a flexible approach to phased implementation, Second Edition)
  • assess EMS status; (§ 6.1 ¶ 6 Bullet 2, ISO 14005:2019, Environmental management systems — Guidelines for a flexible approach to phased implementation, Second Edition)
  • Organizations should assess whether the scope and maturity of their current EMS is appropriate to achieve the intended outcomes. They should compare existing practices and processes with what would be required to achieve the intended outcomes as defined in 6.2. (§ 6.3 ¶ 1, ISO 14005:2019, Environmental management systems — Guidelines for a flexible approach to phased implementation, Second Edition)