ISO 14001: the environment managed, not endured.
ISO 14001 asks you to know your company’s environmental aspects and their impacts, and to keep them under control while improving over time. Since 15 April 2026 there has been a new edition.
What it is
Aspects, impacts, obligations: under control and improving.
The standard requires an environmental management system that manages the aspects and impacts of activities and improves environmental performance. The 2026 edition keeps the 2015 structure and gives more weight to climate change, biodiversity and resource efficiency.
Who needs it
- Companies holding an AIA, Italy’s integrated environmental permit
- Companies bidding in tenders that reward environmental certifications
- Suppliers to industrial clients who require it along the supply chain
- Companies that already have 9001 or 45001 and want an integrated system
What it brings you
If you hold an AIA, with ISO 14001 the permit review interval goes from 10 to 12 years; with EMAS registration, to 16.
D.Lgs. 152/2006, art. 29-octiesIn Italian tenders that provide for it, the guarantee is reduced by up to 20%: ISO 14001 is among the certifications in Annex II.13.
D.Lgs. 36/2023, art. 106 c. 8 and allegato II.13Same clauses as 9001 and 45001: a single system for quality, environment and safety.
ISO, Management system standards
The path
From analysis to certificate, in four steps.
- 1
Environmental review
Aspects and impacts of activities, legal obligations, interested parties: this is where you start.
- 2
The system, written and lived
Policy, objectives, operational controls, emergencies, documents and records. Then a period of real operation.
- 3
Internal audit and review
Before calling in the certification body, an internal audit and the management review show whether the system holds up.
- 4
Certification audit
The accredited body carries it out in two stages, the second at the company’s premises. The certificate lasts three years, with a surveillance audit every year.
10ISO
How 10ISO will help you
The agents will do the work that repeats itself; decisions stay with you and whoever supports you. 10ISO is coming soon: this is what we’re building.
- The register of aspects and impacts, updated when a process changesComing soon
- Environmental obligations and deadlines in one list: permits, analyses, declarationsComing soon
- Evidence shared with 9001 and 45001, uploaded onceComing soon
- The transition from 2015 to 2026, requirement by requirementComing soon
Questions
The first questions people ask about ISO 14001.
How long is my ISO 14001:2015 certificate valid?
Until 30/04/2029 at the latest. From the end of October 2027 no new certificates are issued against the 2015 edition: Accredia gives 30/10/2027, Global ACI 31/10/2027.
For the AIA, is ISO 14001 or EMAS better?
The law gives a 12-year review interval with ISO 14001 and 16 years with EMAS registration, against the ordinary 10. The choice also depends on what your clients and the calls you apply for ask for.
What changes with ISO 14001:2026?
The structure stays that of the 2015 edition; climate change, biodiversity and resource efficiency carry more weight. Climate had already come in with the 2024 amendment.
Sources
Every reference on this fact sheet comes from one of these sources, checked on 28/09/2026. If a law or a standard changes, the fact sheet is updated.
Sources
- ISO — ISO 14001:2026, Environmental management systems (opens in a new tab)
- Accredia — circolare DC 14/2026 sulla nuova ISO 14001 (opens in a new tab)
- Global ACI — Global ACI publishes transition requirements for ISO 14001:2026 (opens in a new tab)
- D.Lgs. 152/2006, art. 29-octies — riesame dell’AIA (Normattiva) (opens in a new tab)
- D.Lgs. 36/2023, art. 106 — garanzie per la partecipazione (Normattiva) (opens in a new tab)
- D.Lgs. 36/2023, allegato II.13 — certificazioni per la riduzione delle garanzie (testo della GU n. 77 del 31/03/2023) (opens in a new tab)
- ISO — Management system standards (opens in a new tab)
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