The organization must be ready to respond to abnormal operating conditions, accidents, and emergency situations. This can include, among other occurrences, accidental discharges to the land, air, or water, and other specific effects to the local ecosystem from accidental releases. The basic requirement in Clause 4.3.7 of ISO 14001 is to establish and maintain procedures to identify the potential of and response to accidents and emergency situations. The organization should also be prepared to prevent and mitigate associated environmental impacts. Finally, the organization must review, and revise when necessary, its emergency preparedness procedures and test them whenever practical.

• Assigning authority and responsibility.
• Developing procedures for providing emergency services.
• Providing methods to react to different types of emergencies.
• Providing information on hazardous materials.
• Ensuring effective internal and external emergency communication.
• Training for emergency preparedness and response.

Return to Implementation