ISO 14001:2026: what changed from 2015

Every clause from 4 to 10 of the 2026 environmental management system standard against the 2015 edition, in plain words, and a free gap check for your transition. Read from the published standard; no text of the standard is quoted.

Published: 15 April 2026 (ISO; EN ISO 14001:2026 on 16 April per NSAI)
Transition: 30 April 2029: Accredia, Italy's accreditation body, ends the transition three years after the end of the month of publication, following the draft rule of the Global Accreditation Cooperation (the former IAF and ILAC); INAB (Ireland) also gives April 2029. Accredia adds that no new certificates to the 2015 edition are issued after 30 October 2027. Ask your certification body for its own dates.

The main changes

Environmental conditions are named in the context (4.1): pollution, natural resources, climate change, biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Clause 6.1 has five subclauses; risks and opportunities get their own documented subclause (6.1.4), including external environmental conditions that affect you.
Planning of changes (6.3) is a new clause: changes that affect the system are carried out in a planned way.
Scope (4.3) considers your influence over the life cycle; parties' needs you adopt become compliance obligations (4.2).
"Outsourced processes" become externally provided processes, products and services (8.1).
Internal audits have defined objectives (9.2); management review and clause 10 are restructured.

Clause by clause

4.1 ContextChanged
Issues now explicitly include environmental conditions affecting or affected by you: pollution, natural resources, climate change, biodiversity and ecosystem health.
4.2 Interested partiesChanged
Parties' needs that become compliance obligations are addressed through the EMS. New notes: parties may have environmental needs; voluntary needs become obligations once adopted.
4.3 ScopeChanged
The control and influence to consider now names the life cycle of activities, products and services.
4.4 EMSSame
Build, run and improve the EMS, including better environmental performance, using what 4.1 and 4.2 found.
5.1 LeadershipChanged
Accountability, policy and objectives aligned with strategy, integration, resources as before. Changed: top management supports other relevant roles (2015: other relevant management roles), so not only managers.
5.2 Environmental policyReworded
Same commitments; a new note gives examples: resource conservation, sustainable use, climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity and ecosystems.
5.3 Roles and authoritiesSame
EMS conformity and performance reporting assigned.
6.1 Planning: aspects, obligations, risksRestructured
Five subclauses: 6.1.1 general, 6.1.2 environmental aspects (now including emergency situations, with life-cycle stages spelled out), 6.1.3 compliance obligations, 6.1.4 risks and opportunities (new own subclause, documented, including external environmental conditions affecting you), 6.1.5 planning action (was 6.1.4).
6.2 Environmental objectivesSame
Objectives from aspects, obligations, risks; measurable where practicable; planned with indicators.
6.3 Planning of changesNew
New clause: changes that affect the EMS are carried out in a planned way so intended outcomes are still achieved.
7 SupportSame
Resources, competence, awareness, communication and documented information as in 2015.
8.1 Operational planningChanged
"Outsourced processes" becomes externally provided processes, products and services, controlled or influenced. Life-cycle controls and the hierarchy-of-controls note stay.
8.2 Emergency preparednessSame
Plan, respond, test, review, train; emergencies come from 6.1.2.
9.1 Monitoring and complianceSame
Performance criteria and indicators, calibrated equipment, communication of performance, compliance evaluation.
9.2 Internal auditChanged
Each audit now has defined objectives as well as criteria and scope; evidence of programme, implementation and results is listed.
9.3 Management reviewRestructured
Split into 9.3.1 general, 9.3.2 inputs and 9.3.3 results; content close to 2015.
10.1 Continual improvementRestructured
2015's 10.1 and 10.3 are merged; improvement finds opportunities from clause 9 and 10.2 and acts on them.
10.2 Nonconformity and corrective actionSame
React, mitigate environmental impacts, find causes, act, check, record.

ISO 14001:2026 clauses 4 to 10 and what changed from 2015
Clause	Topic	Change	What it asks and what is different
4.1	Context	Changed	Issues now explicitly include environmental conditions affecting or affected by you: pollution, natural resources, climate change, biodiversity and ecosystem health.
4.2	Interested parties	Changed	Parties' needs that become compliance obligations are addressed through the EMS. New notes: parties may have environmental needs; voluntary needs become obligations once adopted.
4.3	Scope	Changed	The control and influence to consider now names the life cycle of activities, products and services.
4.4	EMS	Same	Build, run and improve the EMS, including better environmental performance, using what 4.1 and 4.2 found.
5.1	Leadership	Changed	Accountability, policy and objectives aligned with strategy, integration, resources as before. Changed: top management supports other relevant roles (2015: other relevant management roles), so not only managers.
5.2	Environmental policy	Reworded	Same commitments; a new note gives examples: resource conservation, sustainable use, climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity and ecosystems.
5.3	Roles and authorities	Same	EMS conformity and performance reporting assigned.
6.1	Planning: aspects, obligations, risks	Restructured	Five subclauses: 6.1.1 general, 6.1.2 environmental aspects (now including emergency situations, with life-cycle stages spelled out), 6.1.3 compliance obligations, 6.1.4 risks and opportunities (new own subclause, documented, including external environmental conditions affecting you), 6.1.5 planning action (was 6.1.4).
6.2	Environmental objectives	Same	Objectives from aspects, obligations, risks; measurable where practicable; planned with indicators.
6.3	Planning of changes	New	New clause: changes that affect the EMS are carried out in a planned way so intended outcomes are still achieved.
7	Support	Same	Resources, competence, awareness, communication and documented information as in 2015.
8.1	Operational planning	Changed	"Outsourced processes" becomes externally provided processes, products and services, controlled or influenced. Life-cycle controls and the hierarchy-of-controls note stay.
8.2	Emergency preparedness	Same	Plan, respond, test, review, train; emergencies come from 6.1.2.
9.1	Monitoring and compliance	Same	Performance criteria and indicators, calibrated equipment, communication of performance, compliance evaluation.
9.2	Internal audit	Changed	Each audit now has defined objectives as well as criteria and scope; evidence of programme, implementation and results is listed.
9.3	Management review	Restructured	Split into 9.3.1 general, 9.3.2 inputs and 9.3.3 results; content close to 2015.
10.1	Continual improvement	Restructured	2015's 10.1 and 10.3 are merged; improvement finds opportunities from clause 9 and 10.2 and acts on them.
10.2	Nonconformity and corrective action	Same	React, mitigate environmental impacts, find causes, act, check, record.

Free gap check: is your system ready for ISO 14001:2026?

Tick what your system already does. The changes left open are your transition work. Nothing you tick leaves this page or is saved.

4.1 Context: Your context review covers pollution, resources, climate, biodiversity and ecosystem health.
4.2 Interested parties: Your register shows which parties' needs you adopted as compliance obligations.
4.3 Scope: Your scope statement considers your influence over the life cycle.
5.1 Leadership: Top management supports everyone with an EMS role, not only other managers.
6.1 Planning: aspects, obligations, risks: Risks and opportunities are a separate, documented determination that includes external environmental conditions.
6.3 Planning of changes: Changes to the EMS (new sites, processes, products, structure) follow a planned change process.
8.1 Operational planning: Your controls cover all externally provided processes, products and services, not only outsourced processes.
9.2 Internal audit: Each internal audit has written objectives, criteria and scope.

0 of 8 changes covered

Still to do

4.1 Context
4.2 Interested parties
4.3 Scope
5.1 Leadership
6.1 Planning: aspects, obligations, risks
6.3 Planning of changes
8.1 Operational planning
9.2 Internal audit

Questions

When was ISO 14001:2026 published?

On 15 April 2026.

When does the transition end?

On 30 April 2029 under Accredia's rules (three years from the end of the month of publication); INAB also gives April 2029. Some certification bodies give mid-April, so ask yours for its date.

Is there a free ISO 14001:2026 PDF?

No. The standard is copyrighted; buy it from ISO or your national standards body. This page summarises the changes in our own words.

What is the biggest new requirement?

Planning of changes (6.3), and a separate, documented determination of risks and opportunities (6.1.4).

The standard itself is copyrighted and is not free anywhere legally. Buy it from ISO (iso.org) or from your national standards body; in India the Bureau of Indian Standards sells the identical IS/ISO adoption. This page only summarises the changes in our own words and quotes no text of the standard.

Also on this site: what changed in ISO 9001:2026 and the ISO 27001 starter kit.

Sources

Checked 29 October 2026. Certification needs a working system and an audit by an accredited body; this page is general information, not consultancy.