Report on the Annual General Meeting of ISO TC 207 in Halifax

Transcription

1 Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS) ISO TC 207 Report on the Annual General Meeting of ISO TC 207 in Halifax Report from the SC1 Environmental Management and SC2 Environmental Auditing and Evaluations Committees. 24th Annual General Meeting of the ISO TC 207 Environment Technical Committee The Annual General Meeting of ISO TC 207 Environment took place from 9 to 16 June 2017 in Halifax, Canada. ISO TC 207 develops and publishes international standards, which provide guidance on pivotal environmental topics, create recognised guidelines and provide tools for environmental management. Through its application, sustainable economic activity and environmental performance should be achieved and promoted, and environmental protection effectively monitored. With this objective in mind, the ISO maintains a framework of environmentallyrelated standards and tools for management, audits, evaluations, communications, labels, methods and techniques. The most widespread standard from TC 207 is the well-known ISO with certifiable requirements of envi-ronmental management systems. This is accompanied by a range of other standards and guidelines covering a large number of specific subject areas. Over 20 international partner organisations cooperate in ISO TC 207 as a liaison body. 1

2 Focus of work in SC1 and SC2 Committees The work in TC 207, and especially in the SC1 Environmental Management Committee, is moving in the direction of improved compatibility with UN sustainability targets. A main area in the SC2 Auditing and Evaluations Commit-tee is the preparation of guidelines for validations and verifications relating to the reliability of environmental reporting (Assurance of Environmental Reports). ISO TC 207 includes 7 committees which plan, implement and keep up-to-date standard projects according to subject area. It is the fundamental task of the SC1 Environmental Management Committee to draw up environmental management-related standards that respond to stakeholder requirements, are market based and encourage sustain-ability. This aim is complemented by the SC2 Committee which deals with the standard requirements for auditing and conformity evaluation. The subject of environmental management is to be comprehensively covered in this way. The requirement is to provide a portfolio including a consistent set of compatible, complementary standards, guidelines and tools. SC1 has set up a Future Challenges Study Group to support this. It will deal with important future topics and compile a report by 2020 with recommendations that should be observed in the future defini-tion of the series of ISO related standards. Below, we go briefly into the significant work in the first two committees. Which standards are given priority in the work schedule of the SC1 Environmental Management Committee? ISO Environmental management guidelines on the application of the ISO framework re-lating to environmental aspects and environmental circumstances in specific subject areas Part 1: General Here we are dealing with a new standard project that was initiated in 2015 and approved in Work on the first draft of ISO was tackled in Halifax. The aim is to publish the standard by the end of The application of the generally valid EMS requirements in specific subject areas should be supported with the aid of ISO Users can gain a systematic understanding of subject areas that are relevant to them more quickly and proceed in a more efficient manner. ISO therefore supports the implementation of the ISO framework in respect of sustainable environmental management. The guideline is aimed at organisations that manage the environmental aspects of specific subject areas and wish to react systematically to changing and significant environmental cir-cumstances. ISO will not include every single clause from the requirements of ISO 14001, but only those that are relevant to a specific subject area. ISO includes general guidelines whereas the other parts of ISO x, that are scheduled for later, will include subject-specific guidelines according to the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) approach. The following diagram shows how the parts of ISO can be applied within the frame-work of ISO 14001: 2

3 EM: Requirements with guidance for use EM: General guidance on implementation EM: General guidance on managing environmental aspects and addressing environmental conditions EM: Subject-specific guidance for managing environmental aspects and addressing environmental conditions Picture 1: Application of ISO in the environmental management framework according to ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Environmental management systems general guidelines for implementation This standard has been published with the updated version ISO 14004:2016. It includes good management practices and implementation examples. Environmental management: specification of environmental costs and benefits guidelines This is a case of a standard project approved in These guidelines aim to support ISO endeavours by means of the use of monetary and non-monetary financial statements-related business information in the decision-making and communications processes of an organisation. The guidelines take into account the inclusion of information gained by the application of ISO Status of the project: working draft. A Committee draft is expected during 2018, then publication in Monetary evaluation of environmental effects and related environmental aspects princi-ples, requirements and guidelines This standard project was initiated in Status of the project: the standard project is at the stage of Committee draft ISO CD Publication is expected at the end of Environmental management system: guidelines for the integration of redesigned products and components to optimise material circulation. Here it is a question of a proposed new standard project, which is due to be approved by August The standard would be aimed at organisations that use an environmental man-agement system and ISO 14001, in order to improve material circulation by redesigning prod-ucts and components. With the project starting in 2017, it should be possible to count on publication at the end of

4 ISO Guideline on the assurance of environmental reports The ISO standard project was approved in The principles and procedures on the evaluation of environmental reports will be specified in ISO Verification and validation activities are key elements. They will be regarded as an assurance process and the result should be expressed in an assurance statement. This standard is aimed at the effective safeguarding and reliability of information in environmental reporting and associated processes. It will make a contribution towards encouraging market confidence in the stakeholders involved. The target is to be able to present an international draft standard for approval by July Publication is expected at the beginning of Currently, the project is at the ISO CD Committee draft stage. Objectives and intentions of ISO in detail: Trends and driving forces in environmental and sustainability reporting Environmental and sustainability reporting are increasing further in significance in the wake of advancing sus-tainability efforts. The driving factors are many and varied. However, the effects of a lack of sustainability on risk management, business continuity, monetary factors, etc are falling into place more and more. Truthful and meaningful reporting is both useful and confidence building for the stakeholders involved. Stricter reporting obligations established by regulators Statutory requirements or guidelines relating to environmental and sustainability reports where specific interested parties are concerned are tending to be more comprehensive and more precise (e.g. disclosure requirements, expectations of investors, etc.). Also worth mentioning is Directive 2014/95/EU dated 22 October 2014 which came into force with effect from 1 January This affects around 6,000 companies in the EU and supports a reporting obligation. Its content is aimed at five subject areas, for which strategies and measures, significant risks and their handling, control processes and results including performance indicators are to be declared. All six subject areas with regard to sustainability topics. One of these subject areas is the environment. ISO supports reliable and approved reporting and encourages the level of confidence (assurance) Against the background of the developments mentioned previously, a new standard project has been launched with ISO which should offer support and added value from recognised guidelines for the stakeholders in the area of the verification and validation of environmental reporting. With verification and validation, the adequacy, suitability and reliability of environmental reporting are being targeted, above all to facilitate an expected level of confidence for the user. It is a case of confidence in disclosed and communicated data and information, including the mechanisms used for collection. Absolute assurance is not open to debate, as validation and verification are based on random samples and the depth of inspection and methodology are also to be implemented context-specifically. In other words, an internal or external client requesting their own or an external assessment must be in agreement with regard to the aims and specifications for verification and validation. Verification and validation can therefore be viewed as an actual measurement, according to which a user would be offered security or even assurance. Final remark: 4

5 Apart from the above-mentioned standards, further standard projects and standard revisions are in progress, and above all: ISO Staged implementation of an EMS; ISO Material circulation; ISO Integrating eco-design into an EMS; ISO Environmentally-conscious design ECD principles, requirements and guidance. For a detailed summary of environmental management-related standards, please see the following websites Further Links: July 2017, René Wasmer, SQS Deputy CEO, Swiss Association for Quality and Managementsystems (SQS) / Vice-President of IQNet, The International Network for Certification / Responsible for the Environmental Management and Auditing Committee at Swiss Standards Association (SNV) and its mirror committee NK 140 Environment. July 2017 / Version 1.0 Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS) Bernstrasse Zollikofen Switzerland