International environmental Standards paving the way forward in our built world

Respecting the environment

Focusing on the potential of Standards to help our world become more sustainable by setting common rules to help businesses provide better goods and services, while respecting planetary boundaries. Respecting the environment is crucial to all industries, especially within the construction industry, as our built environment can have extreme and negative consequences on its surrounding environment if unchecked.

A global benchmark for environmental management

A holistic approach must be applied when managing environmental impacts of construction projects, meaning relevant Standards and regulations need to be considered at all stages of the project. Environmental monitoring should commence well before construction begins, and should continue until the project has been commissioned and operating.

An environmental management plan should be executed which contains all aspects of a project's environmental management, and should be prepared by the contractor before work commences on any construction project. A prerequisite for the environmental management plan is for the construction company or organisation to have an environmental management system in place.

The environmental management system establishes quality systems to ensure consistently high environmental outcomes for the project as a whole. The ISO 14000 series is viewed as best practice and should be adopted in order to address significant environmental risks. 

ISO 14000 - putting the environment first

ISO 14000 is a family of Standards that pertains to certain aspects of environmental regulations and is internationally recognised. This series is a set of Standards that helps businesses reduce industrial waste and environmental damage. It is a framework that focuses on better environmental impact management, and offers a step-by-step process for setting and achieving environmentally-friendly objectives for business practices, including construction.

ISO 14001 is the most commonly used Standard of the family, and provides requirements with guidance for use that relate to environmental systems. This Standard is used by organisations in above 87% of the world's countries. Other Standards in the family focus on specific approaches such as audits, communications, labelling and life cycle analysis, as well as environmental challenges such as climate change. The series includes:

• ISO 14001: Specification of Environmental Management Systems
• ISO 14004: General guidelines on implementation
• ISO 14020 - ISO 14024: Environmental Labeling
• ISO 14031 and ISO 14032: Environmental Performance Evaluation
• ISO 14040 - ISO 14043: Life Cycle Assessment
• ISO 14050: Terms and Definitions

A new way of thinking - Standards embedded with environmental responsibility 

In recognising the power that Standards play in shaping a safe future and a safer world, The International Organization for Standardization has developed ISO Guide 84: Guidelines for addressing climate change in Standards. This new Standard provides a systematic approach, relevant principles, and useful information to help Standard writers address climate change impacts, risks, and opportunities as they craft a safer and more environmentally friendly world. 

This complements their new ISO Guide 82: Guidelines for addressing sustainability in Standards, which provides guidance to Standards developers on how to take account of sustainability in the drafting, revision and updating of Standards.

Both of these will likely have enormous positive effects on all construction Standards moving forward into the future; To create a more comprehensive and embedded approach to environmentalism and sustainability enabling a greener, safer construction industry and world.