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For a company to get an ISO 14001 accreditation it must set in place an environmental management scheme as outlined in the ISO guidelines. This scheme must be implemented and results must be able to be demonstrated to the auditors. These assessments have to be made by a company that is approved to grant ISO 14001 accreditation. There are some companies who will charge a fixed fee, regardless of how many assessments need to be done. Each assessment is a multi-stage process.

The first stage is a document review. The auditor will study EMS plan to see how it compares with the official ISO 14001 standards. If this comparison is not favourable, the assessment will go no further, since any implementation will be of a flawed scheme.

The next stage, which is optional, is a pre-assessment. This come in a couple of forms, the first being a purely document based assessment. It will determine if you properly understand and have applied the ISO 14001 standard. The second is like a trial run of the real assessment. Key personnel will be interviewed and the implementation of the plan will be examined so that any weaknesses can be weeded out. These need to be corrected before the final stage, which is the real ISO 14001 assessment. This can only take place after a completed cycle of internal audits has been completed and the results formally reviewed by the management team. This documentation will be subject to scrutiny in the assessment. It should also address the issue of communication, how aware have the company made its employees about the EMS.

The assessment itself will come in two parts. The first part will examine the company’s state of preparedness and will involve the lead auditor signing off on the document review as well as inspecting the plant, both inside and out. The auditor will check that the company has all the correct environmental licences and permits and review the companies identified environmental impacts. He will also interview some of the personnel who hold key positions.

In the second part, the auditor will check on how extensive the implementation of the Environmental Management scheme is and it effectiveness. This is where he will scrutinise the records of the internal audits and the minutes and notes of the management reviews. He will also interview quite a few of the personnel, to determine their awareness of the EMS. This could involve people from all positions, from management down to cleaners.

If your assessment was successful, the certificates will be issue to the company. At this point any relevant organisations should be informed that the company now holds certification; it should be checked with the assessing company whether they will do this or if you need to take care of it yourself.