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Tavares Group Blog

ISO 14001 Interpretation – 4.3.3 Objectives, Targets and Programme(s)

By: Sandra Tavares, Principal, Tavares Group Consulting Inc.
June 2008

The ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Standard, which contains the requirements for environmental management systems is relevant for organizations wishing to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner. Despite its strengths, the standard is often open to interpretation and as a result has led to a variety of lengthy guidance documents, despite its nine pages of requirements. In most countries, the national standards governing body is able to discuss any interpretation discrepancies and issue a national level clarification. The most recent ISO 14001 clarification from the Canadian Advisory Committee on Environmental Management issued by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) dealt with the interpretation of Clause 4.3.3 regarding “objectives and targets”. The standard clearly uses plural forms of both objectives and targets however does this imply more then one objective and target is required? The answer is ´No´. The organization has the discretion to determine the exact number of objectives and targets. Generally more then one objective tends to evolve because of the requirements to consider the organizations policy commitments, significant aspects and legal and other requirements. For the full CSA interpretation see the March/April edition of Info Update at standardsactivities.csa.ca (section on ´Environment´ PDF).

How to stay informed.

Have you ever had an auditor flag an item that other auditors were fine with? It´s all in the interpretation. As an organization, how can you stay on top of the most recent interpretations?

  • Continuously review relevant websites such as the CSA is a good option but chances are this process is time and energy intensive and you would rather devote your time to implementing or managing your systems.
  • Subscribe to information update services to keep you informed. Costs may or not be involved with these services so be aware of what you are signing up for.
  • Pick up a book. Enter ISO 14001 as a search term into any online book retailer and pages of hits will appear. When ordering keep in mind the only official resource is the standard itself and many books and guides for implementation will have already been interpreted by a third party author and may be outdated by the time they make it into print. So be aware of the country of origin of the interpretation, the date of publication and watch the costs. Local or university libraries are also great, low cost resource for books.
  • Training sessions. ISO 14000 training is widely available, but like any course, do your research and find out about its quality. Many online courses require you to review slides and complete an exam with no opportunity to ask questions. Generally speaking interactive sessions with experienced instructors are the most valuable learning experiences. Tavares Group Consulting offers a variety of ISO 14001 courses, from awareness to core team and internal auditor training which always is tailored to its audience, be it Operations Staff or Senior Management. Contact us for more details.
  • Hire a consultant. Trained professionals can assist with program implementation however seek out someone with experience in interpretations. In addition to implementation and auditing experience, our involvement with the Canadian Advisory Committee on Environmental Management, the Canadian body providing input to ISO Technical Committee 207 which revises the ISO 14000 series of Standards, makes Tavares Group Consulting an experienced voice in ISO 14001.

For any other interpretation questions, contact Tavares Group Consulting.