Relationship of ISO 14001 to other standards

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ISO Harmonized structure

How does ISO 14001 relate to ISO 9001 and ISO 45001? ISO 14001 has the same structure and core text as the ISO 9001 standard for quality and the ISO 45001 standard for occupational health and safety. The texts are built according to the Harmonized Structure. As a result, the different management systems are very easy to integrate.

Easily integrating management systems

If an organization already has a management system based on ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and/or ISO 50001, this means that the foundation of the management system is already in place. A number of parts of the standard will need to be partially restructured to meet the requirements of the ISO 14001 standard. This will be faster than setting up the entire management system again from scratch. The extent to which parts of the system need to be restructured depends on the nature of the activities.

A few examples

  • The policy principles established by management can be combined for quality, environment and OH&S in a single statement.
  • For the context analysis, most organizations use a certain approach (see our information sheet on this). The same approach can be used for ISO 14001 and supplemented with the relevant issues and the needs and expectations of stakeholders regarding the environment.
  • Internal audits can be conducted very effectively in combination. Ultimately, quality, environment and OH&S come together in the execution of daily work, and the same employees within the organization will also be involved.