Today, I attended a workshop organised by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) on the revision to ISO 14001:2004.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has a process for the review of existing International Standards, such as ISO 14001:2004, on a periodic basis, normally every five years.
This process takes onboard suggestions for improvement from Mirror Committees within the national standards-making bodies, such as The British Standards Institution (BSI), at the relevant ISO Committee, in this case, TC 207.
The workshop was led by Claire Lea and Richard Harada, who presented the current status of the revision process and provided focus to the discussions.
What inspired me at the workshop was the opportunity for the environmental profession to contribute its views at an early stage
in the ISO process & to make a real change from the various interested parties ranging from environmental managers, consultants, academics and the public sector.
I will update on this development in subsequent posts.