TABLE OF CONTENTS ISO 14001 Clause 4.2 requires the organisation to write and publicise an environmental policy, and is quite specific about what the policy must include:
a commitment to continual improvement;
a commitment to prevent pollution;
a commitment to comply with relevant environmental regulations and any requirements such as an industry sector code of practice or the policy of a parent company;
a commitment to set and progress objectives and targets;
a statement that the environmental management system (EMS) is documented, implemented and maintained;
a statement that the policy has been communicated to all employees;
a statement that the policy is available to the public.
In addition, you may wish to introduce other ideas. For example, you may have a policy of active involvement in environmental issues in the local community; you may have developed life cycle assessment for your products; you may wish to highlight your intentions to reduce energy usage; you may have a land clean-up initiative.
The policy must be appropriate to the nature of your business. It is not uncommon for assessors to find policies which have obviously been borrowed from some other type of industrial sector without due thought. As an example, the following phrases found in the environmental policy of an educational establishment do not quite ring true 'will make us a better company', 'compliance with licence requirements'.
It is for this reason that Chapter 5 advocates a two-stage process. Write an Environmental Statement of Intent at the beginning...
