FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2005-12-19

ISO 14001:2004 Transition Period Coming to a Close

OTTAWA – The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) today reaffirmed that organizations currently holding accredited certificates to the 1996 edition of ISO 14001 must transition to ISO 14001:2004 by May 15, 2006.  Beyond this date, only certificates registered to the revised standard will be recognized as valid.

“Although eighteen months seemed like ample time when the revised standard was introduced in November 2004, the deadline now seems very close,” noted Pat Paladino, Director of Conformity Assessment with the SCC. “We encourage organizations to complete the transition process as soon as possible so that they may avoid any inconveniences that could arise as May 15, 2006 approaches.”

The SCC has adopted the ISO 14001:2004 transition plan developed by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).  Based on these guidelines, the SCC is working with its accredited Environmental Management Systems (EMS) certification bodies to ensure that they are qualified to evaluate whether their clients environmental management systems meet the requirements set out in the new standard.

ISO 14001, which specifies the requirements for an EMS, is intended to apply to all types and sizes of organizations. The newest edition of the standard, ISO 14001:2004, is designed to be less complex than its predecessor and is written in an easy-to-understand manner. The document is also more compatible with the Quality Management System standard, ISO 9001:2000. Recognizing that many organizations are developing integrated management systems, ISO 14001 has been revised to include language similar to ISO 9001 and to heighten the similarities and facilitate the integration of these two management systems.

The Standards Council of Canada is a Crown corporation with the mandate to promote efficient and effective use of voluntary standardization and is Canada's representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The SCC's accreditation program for EMS ensures registrars have demonstrated their competence to evaluate environmental management systems, and that they have the capabilities, resources and organizational structure required to offer high-quality service to their clients. For more information on the Standards Council's accreditation programs visit www.scc.ca, or contact the Standards Council's Conformity Assessment Branch via e-mail at [email protected].
 

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