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Determining the context of the organization in ISO 14001

Author: John Nolan

The 2015 revision of the standard will be finalized this month, and one of the key
changes will be a clause concerning the identification of the context of the
organization. When you think about it, this is a totally rational and sensible addition,
especially when you consider how scoping out the context of your organization can
affect the parameters and performance of your Environmental Management System
(EMS) (see also: ) and the wider environment. But what does context of the
organization really mean, and how do you ensure you do this correctly on behalf of
your organization?
Context of the organization: What does it mean?

A simplistic way to view your EMS under the 14001:2004 standard was to think about
what aspects and actions could be considered to lessen your organizations impact on
the environment. That approach is extremely one dimensional, which is what the new
clause seeks to improve. By considering the context of your organization, you must
think of all the direct and indirect consequences, the legal requirements, and all effects
on your stakeholders that your EMS performance will have. In other words, to prepare
for ISO 14001:2015 compliance you will need to take a helicopter view of your
organizations environmental performance, and scope out exactly who that affects,
and consequently, what can be identified to mitigate and improve that. So, how
exactly does that break down?
Context of the organization: Specifics

The 2004 version of the standard mentions interested parties and defines them as
persons or groups concerned with or affected by an organizations environmental
performance. The final draft of the 2015 standard differentiates between these and
the context of the organization. The general context of the organization can be
classified as:

Internal context: any actions or products and services that may affect
your environmental performance
External context: may include legal, economic, social, or political issues
Environmental context: all other environmental aspects that may be
susceptible to damage by your organizations environmental
performance

The expectations of interested parties can then include legal and mandatory
requirements (see also ) and also investor expectations, customer and contractual

expectations, any other expectations held by the local community, and so on. It is
always good practice to document those adopted by your organization, in order to
ensure you can recognize and measure against the objectives you have set.
Therefore, we can imagine the importance of having a good awareness of the context
of our own organization to ensure that we not only meet environmental objectives and
expectations, but also have a foundation to ensure we are aware of satisfying all
external parties and preparing for the future. As ever, this may change from region to
region and depending on the sector your organization works in. So, can we use
examples to make this easier to understand?
Context example: Consumption of wheat

I once worked with a multi-national manufacturer that processed food and snack
products that are consumed in most households. One of the major problems was
obtaining huge quantities of wheat for mass production, ensuring consistency of
product and taste. Lets look at the contextual issue to consider and conquer:

The lack of wheat is an operational constraint and means that output

and consistency may be negatively affected (negative impact due to
environmental condition).
Using wheat may damage an environment that local inhabitants care
about deeply or stop a local supply chain in a region where this
commodity is vital (negative environmental impact).
Negative publicity regarding the issue and any potential publicity or
campaigning may lead to a drop in share price and concern amongst
markets and investors (affecting interested parties, shareholders, and
stakeholders).
It may be possible for the company to buy from another source or
country that may welcome the revenue stream (using the companys
own strategic policy to turn a negative to a positive, garner good
publicity, and increase the share price by having a strategic view of the
companys environmental performance and its effect on others).
Technology: it may be that the organization can use technology to find
a method of supplementing the natural product to ensure that less is
used (awareness of internal context could affect all other parties in a
positive manner if achieved).
Environmental and climate change may mean that the commodity
becomes threatened, and therefore, the organization must take action
to find a substitute (a change in external environment driving the need
for environmental change).

So, we now have a better idea of why the ISO 14001:2015 standard, which you can
read more about in this blog: , needs us to consider the context of the organization.
So, what outcome does that give us?

Context of the organization: The outcome

The clause specific to the context of the organization is clearly constructed to ensure
that each individual entity considers all external, internal, and associated factors when
framing the scope and objectives for its own EMS. In this day and age, paying lip
service to environmental issues is rightly frowned upon, and an auditor will now need
evidence that the context of the organization has been completely defined with input
from the top management team. Then, and only then, can environmental aspects and
strategies be defined that will ensure the delivery and maintenance of the resulting
objectives which will be considerably more rounded as a result of this process, to
the benefit of all, whether external, internal, or the environment itself.

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Procedure for Determining Context of the Organization and Interested Parties

ISO 14001:2015 vs. ISO 14001:2004 The main changes

How to determine the scope of the EMS according to ISO 14001:2015
John Nolan | February 1, 2016
Determining the scope: What does it mean?

External and internal issues mentioned in the

factors: Obviously, all compliance obligations must be considered
and met for your EMS to be considered compliant and to function
effectively.
The organizational units, functions, and physical boundaries: This is
self-explanatory, as these factors are part of the basic considerations in
terms of how your organization actually operates.
Activities, products, and services: Your activities and services will help
define the scope of your EMS. Consider, for instance, the difference
between a nuclear power station and a coffee shop. Both have vastly
differing activities and products, but to have an effective EMS, both will
have to define these products and activities to assess the impact within
the organizational scope.
The authority and ability to exert control and influence: The cannot be
effective without control of its components and demonstration of some
influence over the external aspects mentioned above.

The standard advises that the scope should be maintained and be available to
interested parties as ocumented information, . So, another factor to consider is
that your definition of your EMS scope is so critical that you must commit your
findings to documented information, as it is considered even more important than in
the 14001:2004 standard. This serves the dual purpose of allowing you to make this
critical information available to stakeholders, shareholders, and external parties, and
also to allow you to continually review and improve the scope of the EMS itself. So,
what else do we have to do?