We are celebrating recertification to ISO14001:2015 standard following a successful external surveillance audit by Socotec on our Environmental Management System (EMS).
What is ISO14001 certification?
ISO14001 is the international standard for environmental management recognised by governing and funding bodies and achieving and keeping certification to the standard further demonstrates the commitment and leadership for environmental sustainability which exists at the University. The University has held the standard since 2012.
How is ISO14001 certification audited?
The audit took place both on campus and virtually across 6 days in December and involved talking to staff across the university, inspecting key locations, reviewing our environmental policies, strategies, procedures; and assessing our progress against environmental targets and objectives.
The auditor praised the University, and in particular the staff, commenting that “ Each member of the university staff that I spoke with during the audit demonstrated a high level of knowledge of environmental management and their role in supporting the university’s environmental objectives“.
Why does this matter?
The Environmental Management System (EMS) covers all of our UK operations, and therefore is at the heart of embedding environmental improvements across the University. It offers a systematic and transparent way of managing our environmental objectives and targets, reducing our impacts and ensuring compliance against environmental legislation.
The EMS is one of the key ways in which the University will deliver against the strategic objectives of the Sustainability Strategy published in October 2021.
Recognition and thanks go to all the staff involved in the audit process who took time to speak to our auditor and who have contributed to the continual improvement of the University’s environmental performance. Find out more about our Environmental Management System.
For more information please contact Catherine Morris, Sustainability Manager c.morris@kent.ac.uk.