When it comes to ISO, it can be described as a worldwide federation of standards bodies at the national level.
It is a non-governmental that consists of standards through approx more than 160 countries, along with one standards body representation of each member country. For instance, the United States is represented by American National Standards Institute.
For developing standards, the ISO has six stage processes namely, proposal, preparatory, committee, inquiry, approval, and publication stage. There are several ISO standards like ISO 9001, ISO 22000, ISO 13485, and many more.
In this article, the chief aim is on differentiating ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
Key Takeaways
- ISO 14001 is an international standard for environmental management systems, while ISO 45001 is a standard for occupational health and safety management systems.
- ISO 14001 focuses on reducing an organization’s environmental impact and promoting sustainable practices, whereas ISO 45001 aims to reduce workplace hazards and improve employee safety.
- Both ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 follow a Plan-Do-Check-Act model and can be integrated into a single management system for organizations committed to environmental and occupational health and safety performance.
ISO 14001 vs ISO 45001
ISO 14001 is a standard for environmental management systems (EMS). It provides a framework for organizations to manage their environmental responsibilities. ISO 45001 is a standard for occupational health and safety (OH&S) management systems. It provides a framework for organizations to manage their OH&S responsibilities.
The ISO 14001 standard aids to identify the objectives and determining the resources and processes needed to manage the impact on the environment. EMS or simply Environmental Management System helps to implement it.
The benefits which it comprises are improved organizational decision making, improved customer satisfaction, and improved public profile.
The ISO 45001 is standard at the international level for OH & S management system. In 2018, it was last updated and sets out the requirement for organization, mainly looking to implement a management system of OH & S.
It also offers guidance for its usage in the environment on an everyday basis.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | ISO 14001 | ISO 45001 |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | In 1996 | In March 2018 |
| Creator | The International Organization for Standardization | By Kristian Glaesel |
| Manage | Environmental issues | Occupational Health and Safety concerns |
| Commitment | To the environment | To your employees |
| Covers | External environment | Internal environment |
What is ISO 14001?
ISO 14001 is a standard family linked to environmental management that mainly exists to aid organizations. It can one in three ways like minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment, comply with regulations, applicable laws, and other environmentally oriented requirements, and at last continually improve in the above.
The ISO 14001 requirements are a fundamental part of the EMAS or simply European Union’s Economy and Audit Scheme. The EMAS’s material and structure are more demanding, mainly concerning legal compliance, reporting duties, and performance improvement. ISO 14001: 2015 is the present version of ISO 14001.
The series of ISO 14001 it’s based on a voluntary approach to the regulation of the environment. The series comprises ISO 14001 standard which offers guidelines for the EMS’s improvement or establishment.
With its predecessor namely, ISO 9000, the standard shares many common traits, it is the quality management’s international standard and served as its internal structure’s model.
ISO 14001 is known as the management system standard of generic meaning that to any organization it is relevant seeking to manage and improve resources more effectively.
It comprises companies with high risk to low-risk service organizations, single site to multinational large companies, and many more.
What is ISO 45001?
The ISO 45001 is an ISO administration system’s standard of OHS that was launched in March 2018. The ISO 45001’s objective is to reduce occupational diseases and injuries, comprising protecting and promoting mental and physical well-being.
The standard has roots in OHAS 18001 regulations and conventions of the ILO and national standards.
As of March 2021, migration to ISO 45001 has been done by organizations and companies to hold on certification of validation, while the transition period has been broadening by ISO up to approx six months for organizations commonly affected by COVID-19.
It accompanies the structure at a higher level of other ISO standards which makes it easier to integrate these standards.
In October 2013, the ISO 45001 was suggested at ISO. In 2013, the modeling of committee ISO/ PC 283 has been agreed upon and had direct standardization processes’ responsibility.
When it comes to the drafting procedure, at least 70 countries put up with it. The committee, as well as preparation work, carried until December 2015.
Further, in a second draft, it was revised, which was clarified and accepted into a final draft. The standard garnered favor’s vote approx 62, abstentions of nine, and at last four votes against Turkey, India, and France. In March 2018, the standard was finally published.
Main Differences Between ISO 14001 and ISO 45001
- ISO 14001 has provisions concerning the management and identification of environmental aspects. On the contrary, ISO 45001 comprises controls of social factors influencing employees like work hours, workload, and even bullying.
- The key elements included in the ISO 14001 add management review, implementation, and operation, checking, environmental policy, and corrective action. In contrast, performance evolution, support, improvement, the context of the organization, and worker participation are some of the key elements of ISO 45001.
- The benefits of using ISO 14001 are reduced waste, legal compliance, competitive advantage, reduced insurance costs and increased reputation with consumers. On the other hand, consistency, managerial oversight improvement, trust increase, individual safety improvement, and preventive risk assessment are some of the benefits of ISO 45001.
- ISO 14001 sets out of the environmental management system’s criteria and can be certified to. t also maps out a framework that an organization or company can follow. On the flip side, ISO 45001 specifies OH & S management system’s requirement and also gives its usage guidance.
- The chief aim of ISO 14001 is to reduce pollution, energy consumption, and waste of an organization. Meanwhile, the standard of ISO 45001 is to reduce workplace illness and injuries and offer a framework for managing safety and health responsibilities.
References
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
I’ve put so much effort writing this blog post to provide value to you. It’ll be very helpful for me, if you consider sharing it on social media or with your friends/family. SHARING IS ♥️
Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
