ISO14001:2015: Transitioning hubs for manufacturers

The first hub was launched in Warrington; others are due to follow in Reading, Sheffield, Gateshead and other locations across the UK. The hubs will run quarterly throughout 2016, providing local businesses with step-by-step guidance, knowledge and tools for an effective transition.

The staggered one-day sessions will give firms ongoing practical support and guidance from EEF’s team of experts, as well as peer-to-peer support from other members of the hub.

This approach is designed to make transitioning to ISO14001:2015 more manageable, and will enable local firms to share best practice and ideas with each other.

James Wyse, national sustainability lead at EEF, says: “These new hubs break the transition to ISO14001:2015 down into more manageable, bite-size chunks, allowing firms time to digest the information and think through carefully what it means for them.

“It will also provide them with regular, ongoing support and the opportunity to tap into the experiences and best practice of peers. With a supportive network around them, firms should feel motivated and inspired to make best use of their environmental management system. In turn, this will help them realise its benefits and the strategic value to their business.”

The quarterly sessions will take firms through building a business case for environmental management and engaging leadership, using lifecycle thinking, identifying interested parties, setting the scope for the Environmental Management System and identifying risks and opportunities within this scope.

Attendees will learn how to generate a compliance obligations register and be taken through what to expect from the external audit and how to prepare management and support functions for their first environmental audit for the new standard.