Recognising aspects and impacts

In ISO14001 the terms ‘environmental aspect’ and ‘environmental impact’ have specific meanings. The definitions used in ISO14001 are shown below.

As a starting point, any organisation beginning the development of its own EMS needs to examine the ways in which it enhances or degrades the environment. Impacts on the environment can vary from local (e.g. road traffic issues) to global (e.g. contribution to climate change from use of fossil fuels).

Environmental aspect

Element of an organisation's activities, products or services which can interact with the environment.

Environmental impact

Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organisation's activities, products or services.

Significant environmental aspect

An environmental aspect which has or can have a significant environmental impact

Identification of environmental aspects

Clause 4.3.1 of ISO 14001: 2004 requires

‘the organisation shall establish and maintain (a) procedure(s)

a) to identify, within the defined scope of the environmental management system that it can control and those that it can influence taking into account planned or new developments, or new or modified activities, products and services, and

b) to determine those aspects that have or can have significant impact(s) on the environment (i.e. significant environmental aspects)’.

Whatever the techniques adopted to identify environmental aspects, the inputs and outputs of the activity or process must be considered.

Any organisation developing an EMS must work out the ways in which it causes changes to the environment by carrying out its business. ISO14001 acknowledges that some environmental issues are beyond the organisation’s own influence, (e.g. perhaps the only realistic source of energy is a coal-fired power station or the only available raw material is oil-based).

ISO14001 also requires the organisation to take into account current activities and potential new developments.

A typical manufacturing site has inputs, outputs and activities (see emissions overview).

Some of the outputs are unwanted (e.g. emissions, effluents and waste), while some are useful as products or by-products.

Inputs have environmental relevance (e.g. environmental impacts associated with fossil fuel extraction and electricity generation). There is also the issue of resource depletion, and supplier aspects generally, when considering inputs.

‘Supplier aspects generally’ means those environmental aspects which arise from the manufacture and supply of the materials and components which the organisation in question uses as part of its own process. It also applies to services which the organisation uses (e.g. waste disposal).

(See emissions overview for more on inputs & outputs.)

A move to more sustainable production attempts to ‘close the loop’ by minimising waste and other unwanted outputs.

(See waste minimisation)

Examples of environmental aspects and their impacts from selected activities are: