ISO 14001:2004 Interview Checklist

ISO 14001:2004 Interview Checklist

Interviewee:

____________________

Designation: ____________________
Interviewer:

____________________

Date:

____________________

Instructions on Use:
1.

Required organisational information include:

a) Name of organisation:
b) Key business activities:
c) Number of staff:
d) Office address:
e) Name of key contact staff:
f) Contact number & email address:
g) Company web-site (where applicable):

2.

The purposes for this interview checklist are to:

a) Gauge the level of compliance to ISO 14001:2004 requirements by your group /
division / team
b) Facilitate the provision of information necessary for ISO 14001:2004
implementation
c) Serve as a training materials for understanding the ISO 14001:2004 requirements

3.

Please spend about 2 hours going through the checklists, answering the questions to
the best of your knowledge. The Interviewer will go through the questions with you to
help you to answer some of the questions during the interview session.

4.

Please also provide a copy (where available) of the following:

a) Organisations mission statement, long, mid and short term work objectives
b) Organisation chart / structure for your group / division / team
c) Key reason(s) for the ISO 14001:2004 implementation / certification
d) Overview information for various key activities performed by your group /
division / team
e) Any procedures, work instructions, checklists, document templates, flow-charts,
training materials that are used to facilitate various work processes
f) Job responsibility / description for various staff
g) Monthly reports for the past few months where applicable.

5.

Please list out the top 5-7 key activities performed by your group / division / team that
covers at least 80% of all the work done by your group / division / team:
a)
b)
c)

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ISO 14001:2004 Interview Checklist

d)
e)
f)

6.

Identify your key customer(s):

a)
b)
c) .

7.

Identify your key supplier(s)

a)
b)
c) .

8.

What are the key applicable legal and other requirements?

a)
b)
c)
d) .

9.

What are the key environmental aspects and impacts of the organisation's key
activities, products and services (e.g. in terms of meeting legal requirements, reduction
of waste, pollution, health & safety concerns):
a)
b)
c)
d) .

10.

What are the key environmental objective(s) / goals for your team?
a)
b)
c) .

11.

How do you monitor if your established environmental objective(s) / goals are met?
a)
b)
c)

12.

The key ISO 14001 requirements include:

a) 4.1 General EMS Requirements
b) 4.2 Environmental Policy
c) 4.3 Environmental Planning
*0 4.3.1 Environmental Aspects
*1 4.3.2 Legal and Other Requirements
*2 Environmental Objectives, Targets and Programmes
d) 4.4 Implementation and Operation

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e)

f)

*3 4.4.1 Resources, Roles, Responsibilities and Authorities

*4 4.4.2 Competence, Training and Awareness
*5 4.4.3 Internal & External Communication
*6 4.4.4 EMS Documentation
*7 4.4.5 Control of Documents *
*8 4.4.6 Operational Control
*9 4.4.7 Emergency Preparedness and Response
4.5 Checking
*10
4.5.1 Monitoring & Measurement
*114.5.2 Evaluation of Compliance
*12
4.5.3 Non-conformity, Corrective and Preventive Action *
*13
4.5.4 Control of Records *
*14
4.5.5 Internal Audit *
4.6 Mgmt Review *.
ISO 9001 Clauses

Yes

No

Partial

N.A.

Environmental Mgmt System (EMS) Requirements

4.1 General Environmental Mgmt System (EMS)

Requirements
a) Is a environmental mgmt system established,
documented, implemented, maintained and continually
improved according to the ISO 14001 standard?
b) Is the scope of the environmental mgmt system
defined and documented?
c) Are procedures established, implemented and
maintained for:
Environmental Aspects Identification
Identifying and Accessing Applicable Legal and
Other Requirements
Competency, Training and Awareness
Internal & External Communications on
environment aspects, environmental mgmt
programme(s) and EMS
Document Control
Operational Control
Emergency Preparedness and Control
Monitoring and Measurement
Evaluation of Compliance
Non-conformity, Corrective and Preventive
Actions
Control of Audits
Internal Audit
Mgmt Review (optional)
Remarks (if any):

4.2 Environmental Policy

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a) Is the organisation's environmental policy defined?
b) Issues relating to the environmental policy:
Is it appropriate to the nature, scale &
environmental impacts of its activities, products
and services?
Does it include a commitment to continual
improvement and prevention of pollution?
Does it include a commitment to comply with
applicable legal requirements?
Does it provide the framework for setting and
reviewing environmental objectives and targets
Is it documented, implemented and maintained?
Is it communicated to all person working for or
on behalf of the organisation?
Is it available to the public?
Remarks (if any):

Yes

No

Partial

N.A.

4.3 Environmental Planning

4.3.1 Environmental Aspects
c) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure to:
Identify the environmental aspects of its
activities, products and services within the defined
scope of the EMS, taking into account planned or
new development, new or modified activities,
products and services?
Determine those aspects that have or can have
significant impact(s) on the environment (i.e.
significant environmental aspects)?
d) Does the organisation document this procedure and
keep it up-to-date?
e) Does the organisation ensure that significant
environmental aspects are taken into account when
establishing, implementing and maintaining its
environmental mgmt system?
Remarks (if any):

4.3.2 Legal & Other Requirements

f) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure to:
Identify and have access to the applicable legal
requirements and other requirements to which the
organisation subscribes to?
Determine how these requirements apply to its
environmental aspects?
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g) Does the organisation ensure that these applicable and
other requirements are taken into account when
establishing, implementing and maintaining its EMS?
Remarks (if any):

Yes

No

Partial

N.A.

4.3.3 Objectives, Targets and Programmes

a) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain documented environmental objectives and
targets at relevant functions and levels within the
organisation?
b) Are the environmental targets and objectives
measureable, where practicable and consistent with the
environmental policy, including the commitment to
prevention of pollution, compliance with applicable
legal and other requirements, and continual
improvements
c) When establishing and reviewing the environmental
objectives and targets, does the organisation take into
account the:
Legal and other requirements
Its significant environmental aspects
Technological options
Its financial, operational and business
requirements
Views of interested parties?
d) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain programme(s) for achieving its objectives,
targets?
e) Does the programme(s) include:
Designation and responsibility for achieving
objectives and targets at relevant functions and
levels of the organisation
The means and time-frame by which they are to
be achieved?
Remarks (if any):

4.4 Environmental Implementation & Operation

4.4.1 Resources, Roles, Responsibilities & Authorities
f) Does the organisation ensure the availability of
resources essential to establish, implement, maintain
and improve the environmental mgmt system?
g) Does the resources include:
Human resources and specialised skills
Organisational infrastructure
Technology and financial resources
h) Are roles, responsibilities and authorities defined,
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documented and communicated in order to facilitate
effective environmental mgmt?
i) Does the organisation's top mgmt appoint a specific
mgmt representative who is responsible for:
Ensuring that the EMS is established,
implemented and maintained in accordance with
the requirements of the ISO 14001 standard
Reporting to top mgmt on the performance of
the environmental mgmt system for review,
including recommendations for improvements
Remarks (if any):

Yes

No

Partial

N.A.

4.4.2 Competence, Training & Awareness

a) Does the organisation ensure that all staff and
contractors are competent on the basis of appropriate
education, training or experience?
b) Are appropriate records on education, training or
experience maintained?
c) Does the organisation identify training needs
associated with its EMS?
d) Does it provide training or take other actions to meet
these needs and retain associated records?
e) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure to build awareness of:
The importance of conformity to the
environmental policy and procedures with the
requirements of the environment mgmt system
The significant environmental aspects and
related potential impact associated with their work
and environmental benefits of improved personal
performance
Their roles and responsibilities in achieving
conformities with the requirements of the EMS
The potential consequence of departure from
specified procedures?
Remarks (if any):
4.4.3 Communications
a) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure for:
Internal communications among various levels
and functions of the organisation
Receiving, documenting and responding to
relevant communication from external interested
parties?
b) Does the organisation document its decision on
whether to communicate its significant environmental
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aspects externally?
c) Does the organisation establish and implement a
method for the external communication of its
significant environmental aspects?
Remarks (if any):

Yes

No

Partial

N.A.

4.4.4 EMS Documentation

a) Does the EMS documentation include:
The environmental policy, objectives and targets
Description of the scope of the EMS
Description of the main elements of the
environmental mgmt system and their interaction,
and reference to related documents
Documents, including records, required by the
ISO 14001 standard
Documents, including records, determined by
the organisation to be necessary to ensure the
effective planning, operation and control of
processes that relate to its significant
environmental aspects
Remarks (if any):
4.4.5 Control of Documents
a) Are documents required by the environmental mgmt
system and the ISO 14001 standard controlled?
b) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure to:
Approve documents for adequacy prior to
release
Review and update as necessary and re-approve
documents
Ensure that changes and the current revision
status of documents are identified
Ensure that relevant versions of applicable
documents are available at points of use
Ensure that documents remain legible, readily
identifiable and accessible
Ensure that documents of external origin are
identified and their distribution controlled
Prevent the unintended use of obsolete
documents and apply suitable identification to
them if they are retained for any purpose.
Remarks (if any):
4.4.6 Operational Control
a) Does the organisation identify and plan those
operations associated with the identified significant
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environmental aspects?
b) Are the following activities performed:
Establish, implement and maintain a documented
procedure to control situations where absence
could leave to deviation from the environmental
policy, objectives and targets
Operating criteria in the procedures are
stipulated
Establishing, implementing and maintaining
procedures related to significant environmental
aspects and communicating applicable procedures
and requirements to suppliers, including
contractors.
Remarks (if any):

Yes

No

Partial

N.A.

4.4.7 Emergency Preparedness and Response

a) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure to identify potential emergency
situations and potential accidents that can have an
impact on the environment and how it will respond to
them?
b) Is the organisation prepared to respond to actual
emergency situations and accidents?
c) Does it prevent or mitigate associated adverse
environmental impacts?
d) Does the organisation periodically review and revise
its emergency preparedness and response procedures,
in particular, after the occurrence of accidents or
emergency situations?
e) Does the organisation periodically test such
procedures where practicable?
Remarks (if any):

4.5 Checking
4.5.1 Monitoring and Measurement
f) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure to monitor and measure on a
regular basis, the key characteristics of its operations
that can have a significant environmental impact?
g) Does the procedure include documenting information
to monitor performance, applicable operational
controls and conformity with the organisation's
environmental objectives and targets?
h) Does the organisation calibrate, verify or maintain
monitoring and measurement equipment used and
retain associated records?
Remarks (if any):
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Yes

No

Partial

N.A.

4.5.2 Evaluation of Compliance

i) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure for periodically evaluating
compliance with applicable legal requirements?
j) Are compliance to other requirements evaluated on a
periodic basis?
k) Are records of the results of periodic evaluations
maintained?
Remarks (if any):

4.5.3 Nonconformity, Corrective Action & Preventive Action

l) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure for dealing with actual and
potential non-conformities and for taking corrective
and preventive actions?
m) Does the procedures define requirements for:
Identifying and correcting non-conformities and
taking actions to mitigate their environmental
impact
Investigating the need for action(s) to prevent
non-conformities and taking actions in order to
avoid their recurrence
Evaluating the need for action(s) to prevent nonconformities and implementing appropriate actions
designed to avoid their occurrence
Recording the results of the corrective and
preventive actions taken
Reviewing the effectiveness of the corrective
and preventive actions taken?
n) Are actions taken appropriate to the magnitude of the
problems and the environment impact encountered?
o) Does the organisation ensure that necessary changes
are made to the EMS documentation?
Remarks (if any):

4.5.4 Control of Records

p) Does the organisation establish and maintain records
to demonstrate conformity to the requirements of its
EMS and the ISO 14001 standard, and the results
achieved?
q) Does the organisation establish, implement and
maintain a procedure for the identification, storage,
protection, retrieval, retention and disposal of records?
r) Are maintained records legible, identifiable and
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Yes

No

Partial

N.A.

traceable?
Remarks (if any):

4.5.5 Internal Audit

a) Does
the organisation ensure that internal
environmental audits are conducted at planned
intervals to determine if the EMS
Conforms to planned arrangements, including
requirements of the ISO 14001 standard
Has been properly implemented and maintained
b) Are information on the results of audits provided to
mgmt?
c) Are audit programs planned, established, implemented
and maintained by the organisation, taking into
consideration the environmental importance of the
operations concerned and the results of previous
audits?
d) Are audit procedures established, implemented and
maintained to address the:
Responsibilities and requirements for planning
and conducting audits, reporting results and
retaining associated records
Determination of audit criteria, scope, frequency
and methods?
e) Are objectivity and impartiality of the audit process
maintained during the selection of auditors and
conduct of audits?
Remarks (if any):

4.6 Mgmt Review

a) Does top mgmt review the EMS at planned intervals
to ensure its continued suitability, adequacy and
effectiveness?
b) Does the review include assessing opportunities for
improvement and the need for changes to the EMS,
including the environmental policy, objectives and
targets?
c) Are records of environmental mgmt reviews retained?
d) Do the inputs mgmt reviews include:
Results on internal audits
Evaluation of compliance to legal and other
requirements
Communication from external interested parties,
including complaints
Environmental performance of the organisation
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Extent to which environmental objectives and
targets have been met
Status of corrective and preventive actions
Follow-up actions from previous mgmt reviews
Changing circumstances, including development
in legal and other requirements related to its
environmental aspects
Recommendations for improvements
e) Do the outputs from mgmt review include decisions
and actions related to possible changes to the
environmental policy, objectives, targets and other
elements of the EMS, consistent with the commitment
to continual improvement?
Remarks (if any):

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Yes

No

Partial

N.A.

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