Main Content

Chapter I

ISO 14001 EMS Support Package for SMEs

More and more companies are implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to reduce their environmental impacts, improve their efficiency, comply with legislation and demonstrate to clients their commitment to environmental protection. Many companies have chosen to obtain independent certification of their EMS to the international standard ISO 14001^[1]. Due to copyright laws, the ISO 14001 Standard could not be provided in this package. Meanwhile, the ISO 14001 could be purchased through various sources^[2] .

^{[1] International Organization for Standardization
[2] The Standard can be purchased through the Product Standards Information Bureau of the Innovative and Technology Commission, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (www.itc.gov.hk/en/quality/psis/sales.htm), local certification body agencies, or online purchasing through ISO (www.iso.ch).}

The Business Environment Council and Environmental Protection Department, HKSAR have developed a Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) support package for ISO 14001 EMS implementation, in order to :

This EMS support package is designed to help local SMEs to implement an effective EMS. The support package, provided in English and Chinese, comprises

This User Manual and Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates are designed to be of assistance to any SME in any sector. Additional Practical Examples of ISO 14001 EMS are also provided for SMEs in various trades of the construction sector. The trades covered by the Practical Examples of ISO 14001 EMS are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. List of Trades Provided with Practical Examples of ISO 14001 EMS in this Support Package.

An effective EMS requires the involvement of all staff in your organisation, from top management to the workshop floor. Although an "EMS Manager" or "Coordinator" will be nominated to take day-to-day responsibility, other staff will be involved in various ways. Different parts of this support package should be read by the relevant people as follows :

Section I : ISO 14001 EMS Support Package for SMEs

Describes this package and how it should be used. Summarises ISO 14001 EMS concepts, with an overview of the development and implementation approach.

Section II : EMS Planning

Describes the process for planning an EMS, including guidance on how to undertake an "Initial Environmental Review" as the first step.

Section III : EMS Development and Implementation

Provides detailed guidance on how each element of the EMS should be designed and documented, and describes how to use the Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates to develop and implement your own EMS.

Section IV : ISO 14001 EMS Certification Process

Explains the general ISO 14001 certification process and steps involved leading to ISO 14001 certification.

Linkages to download relevant documents and helpful websites are underlined in blue colour. For instance, the link to relevant Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates and Practical Examples of ISO 14001 EMS are indicated as Download (Template) Download (Sample).

Helpful tips are provided throughout this User Manual to give some handy and practical hints on developing and implementing a successful EMS within your company.

Case specific information in Practical Examples of ISO 14001 EMS is highlighted in red colour to help you creating your EMS documents.

The following are some general tips for using the Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates to create your own EMS:

	Replace COMPANY NAME with your company's name in all of the Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates.
	(Italicised) words in brackets are hints for the information specific to your company that should be inserted in that section.
	Italicised words highlighted in purple colour show the practices usually adopted by your industry, but can be changed to reflect your company's culture and practices.
	Document number is highlighted in green colour for easy reference and can be amended to your company's preferred numbering system.

The Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates are developed based on the ISO 14001:2004, which is the second edition and issued on 15 November 2004.

Since ISO 14001 shares common management system principles with the ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) standard, your company may select to use its existing ISO 9001 as the basis for its EMS. You can integrate new EMS features into relevant QMS procedures already in place.

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a continual business cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the processes and actions that your company undertakes to meet its environmental obligations and continually improve its environmental performance. An effective EMS is developed on "Plan, Do, Check, Act" (PDCA) model which embodies the concept of continual improvement.

Figure 1. "Plan, Do, Check, Act" model

b) The Evolution of ISO 14001

ISO 14001 EMS standard was first published in 1996 and has been technically revised in 2004, the second edition ISO 14001:2004, issued on 15 November 2004, cancels and replaces the first edition ISO 14001:1996. This EMS standard is adopted worldwide by organisations for certifying ISO 14001 EMS.  The standard was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management, subcommittee SC 1, Environmental management systems.  The Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates provided in this package are developed based on ISO 14001:2004.  

The comparison between the ISO 14001:1996 standard and ISO 14001:2004 standard is summarised in Appendix 1 to this User Manual. This international standard is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model. The linkage of the clauses of elements in ISO 14001 Standard with PDCA is illustrated in the following table.

Table 2. Comparing the PDCA cycle to the ISO 14001:2004 Standard

* Initial EMS Planning is not an ISO 14001 Standard requirement; however, it is useful preparation work to facilitate the set up and development of the EMS in accordance with the ISO 14001 Standard.

The different tasks for each phase and the relevant Generic ISO 14001 EMS Templates that you can use are shown in Table 3. In addition, Table 3 illustrates the estimated time that each phase of EMS development and implementation usually takes for a typical company. The detailed implementation of each phase is described throughout the rest of this User Manual.

Table 3. Phased EMS Implementation Flow