Environmental aspects, impacts, compliance obligations and risk-based thinking
This domain tests the technical heart of ISO 14001: separating aspect from impact, assessing significance defensibly, and connecting requirements, risk and compliance evaluation.
Aspect versus impact
An environmental aspect is an element of an organization's activities, products or services that interacts or can interact with the environment, such as emission of VOCs from degreasing. An environmental impact is a change to the environment, adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from those aspects, such as contribution to ground-level ozone. Marks are lost by writing impacts in the aspect column.
Clause 6.1.2 requirements
Determine aspects and associated impacts considering the life-cycle perspective, planned or new developments, abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergencies. Determine significant aspects using established criteria, communicate them as appropriate, and maintain documented information of the aspects, impacts, criteria and significant aspects.
Clauses 6.1.3 and 9.1.2
Compliance obligations are legal requirements and other requirements the organization subscribes to. Determine them, have access to them, determine how they apply, and consider them in planning. Evaluation of compliance requires a planned frequency and method: evaluate fulfilment, take action when needed, and maintain knowledge and understanding of compliance status.
Risk-based thinking
Clauses 6.1.1 and 6.1.4 require determining risks and opportunities related to aspects, compliance obligations and other issues; planning action; integrating action into the EMS; and evaluating effectiveness. Risk in ISO 14001 is not only harm - it includes failing to meet obligations and missing opportunities.
Worked example
A metal finisher uses trichloroethylene for degreasing. Aspects: use and emission of a hazardous solvent; generation of spent solvent. Impacts: air emissions affecting local air quality; soil and groundwater contamination from spills; worker exposure. Significance criteria include legal classification, toxicity, quantity, proximity to receptors and spill likelihood. The aspect is significant; controls include a substitution review, enclosed equipment, bunding, permit monitoring and waste contractor controls. The auditor tests 8.1 by examining the operational controls and 9.1.2 by examining permit monitoring records and the compliance evaluation.
Traps
- Listing "pollution" as an aspect when it is an impact.
- Ignoring abnormal conditions (start-up, shutdown, maintenance) and emergencies.
- Treating the legal register as evidence of compliance evaluation.
- Setting significance purely on legal status, ignoring severity and likelihood.
- Omitting life-cycle stages the organization can influence, such as purchasing and disposal.