ISO 14001 and Carbon Footprint Reduction: Best Practices for Organizations

Climate change is an issue of global scale, influenced by and impacting society as a whole. It is a significant cause for concern that demands immediate and decisive action.

Understanding the role of organizations in influencing climate change and how they can protect the environment are crucial steps toward becoming environmentally friendly and responsible. Depending on their size, sector, and activities, organizations can damage the environment in various ways and leave significant carbon footprints to different extents.

It is imperative that organizations have to take proactive measures to control pollution and minimize their impact on the environment. ISO has developed ISO 14001 which enables organizations to adopt effective strategies for successful environmental management.

Carbon Footprint Reduction

One way to measure the impact of organizations on the environment is by calculating their carbon footprint.

Carbon footprint refers to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) being emitted by an individual, organization, or activity. It can come from many sources such as transportation, energy use, manufacturing, etc. The process of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is called carbon footprint reduction.

Reducing carbon footprint is essential in mitigating the effects of climate change and global warming. Several organizations are beginning to adopt strategies that are aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emissions, as well as implementing other practices that are appropriate for protecting the environment.

Some of those strategies are:

Energy Conservation and Management

Energy conservation is the practice and decision to consume less energy and use it more efficiently to save resources and protect the environment. Although it is a huge change, everyone can contribute to energy conservation by:

• Improving the energy efficiency of building vehicles and appliances
• Turning off the electronics when not in use
• Using energy-saving settings on our appliances
• Insulating buildings

Energy conservation not only helps organizations protect the environment but also to save money.

ISO 50001 Energy Management is an international standard that provides organizations with guidance on how to use energy and specifies requirements on how to develop, implement, and improve Energy Management Systems.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy refers to the energy that is derived from natural sources that are replenished naturally and relatively quickly, such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, and biomass. Unlike non-renewable sources of energy such as coal, oil, and natural gas, renewable energy sources are sustainable and do not deplete over time.

Transportation

Transportation is one of the largest contributors to environmental problems and is responsible for the emission of a lot of greenhouse gas and pollutants such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons.

According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 27% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are generated by the transportation sector.

In recent years, there has been an increase in awareness of the transportation impact on the environment. Governments, organizations, and individuals are putting efforts to minimize its negative effects and are working towards creating and promoting other sustainable transportation solutions, such as public transportation, cycling, walking, and electric vehicles.

Sustainable Food Choices

Another significant contributor to the environment is food. Food-related processes such as cultivation, processing, transportation, distribution, consumption, and disposal, use a lot of energy and result in the emission of many pollutants.

A step towards minimizing its negative impact on the environment is to encourage people to use sustainable diets, adopt plant-based diets, use food with a low carbon footprint, recycle edible food waste, etc. Sustainable food choices can also promote sustainable agriculture practices, which can improve soil health and ecosystem health.

Waste Management

Every organization and individual produces waste and the improper and irresponsible way that people manage it affects climate change. As changes in climate are becoming more obvious, as is becoming the need to improve waste management.

Waste management and treatment can be improved by identifying strategies to prevent and reduce waste, designing and evaluating reuse, recycling, and recovery programs, eliminating unnecessary waste, increasing awareness, etc.

Green Building Practices

Green building practices are a set of techniques primarily designed to reduce the environmental impact of buildings by using eco-friendly materials, increasing water and energy efficiency, reducing waste, and improving quality.

Paris Climate Agreement

The Paris Climate Agreement is an international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 parties at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015. The Agreement established some long-term goals, such as:

• Limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C..
• Evaluate countries’ commitments every five years.
• Financially support developing countries to address and adapt to climate change.

The Paris Agreement has been widely recognized as a significant achievement in global climate policy, as it represents the first time that nearly all countries in the world have committed to taking action on climate change.

Another critical component of the Paris Climate Agreement is net zero carbon. Net zero carbon refers to achieving a balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. Achieving net zero carbon requires significant efforts across all sectors of the economy, including energy, transportation, buildings, and industry.

What is ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 is a globally recognized standard for environmental management systems. It specifies requirements for organizations that aim to improve their environmental performance and increase their operational efficiency. It provides guidelines on how to establish policies and procedures which will help organizations in maintaining and controlling environmental impacts and legal compliance.

ISO 14001 contains 10 sections which are based on a Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. While the first three are introductory, the other ones are as follows:

• Clause 4: Context of the organization – This section covers the requirements for understanding and identifying the internal and external context of the organization, defining the scope of the EMS, identifying the needed processes for it, and identifying interested parties. 
• Clause 5: Leadership – The requirements included in this section highlight the importance of the top management in the implementation of the EMS.
• Clause 6: Planning – According to this section, the top management is required to plan the ongoing process of the EMS, assess risks and opportunities, identify environmental objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives.
• Clause 7: Support – This section is about the implementation of plans and processes that enable an organization to meet its EMS. Clause 7 covers resources, competence, awareness, communication, and documented information.
• Clause 8: Operation – Based on this section, organizations are required to assess the environmental impact of their activities and establish written processes for the activities that fall under the EMS scope. It can cover manufacturing, transportation, etc.
• Clause 9: Performance evaluation – It is required to outline how will the EMS be monitored, measured, analyzed, and evaluated.
• Clause 10: Improvement – As ISO 14001 promotes continual improvement, section 10 focuses on assessing nonconformities over time, correcting them, and improving the EMS.

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint with ISO 14001

Organizations can integrate ISO 14001 and reduce their carbon footprint by:

• Developing a carbon footprint reduction strategy that aligns with the organization’s overall sustainability goals and its environmental management system.
• Conduct a carbon footprint assessment, measure emissions from all sources, and identify areas of high emission.
• Establish targets for reducing carbon emissions and measure the progress regularly.
• Implement energy-efficient practices and improve resource efficiency.

Benefits of ISO 14001

By providing a structured framework to establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve the EMS, ISO 14001’s implementation helps organizations:

• Identify and manage their environmental risks and opportunities
• Implement energy-efficient practices
• Reduce waste generation and emissions

It enables organizations to set objectives and targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and track their progress over time to ensure that they are reducing their carbon footprint and are contributing to the war toward a healthier planet.

Furthermore, ISO 14001 requires organizations to engage and collaborate with their stakeholders and to understand more about their concerns related to the environment. This can help organizations to identify new environmental improvement opportunities and build partnerships to address climate change.

Overall, we can conclude that EMS is an important and effective tool for making organizations more proactive and efficient when it comes to the environment. ISO 14001 provides organizations with many benefits, such as:

• Shows commitment to environmental improvement and sustainability
• Improves environmental performance
• Ensures compliance with environmental regulations and laws
• Increases reputation
• Provides competitive and financial advantage
• Reduces costs
• Reduces environmental risks
• Contributes to achieving net zero carbon

About the Author

Vlerë Hyseni is the Digital Content Officer at PECB. She is in charge of doing research, creating, and developing digital content for a variety of industries. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact her at: content@pecb.com.