Templates and records · ISO 14001

ISO 14001 templates and records

Ten records that hold up an environmental management system, each with the clause that calls for it, the fields it needs, a completed example and what auditors usually check.

In one sentence

ISO 14001 requires environmental aspects and their significance criteria, legal requirements, risks and opportunities, objectives and operational and emergency controls to be maintained as documented information, and evidence of monitoring, compliance evaluation, communications, audits and nonconformities to be retained; unlike ISO 9001, risks here must be put in writing.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Required documents: «Maintain documented information» Environmental aspects, legal requirements, risks and opportunities, objectives, scope and policy
Required records: «Retain documented information» Monitoring and measurement, compliance obligations, competence, communications, audits, management review and nonconformities
New edition: ISO 14001:2026 Published on 15 April 2026; transition until 30 April 2029
Initial certifications: Only to the 2026 edition from 31 October 2027 According to the Global ACI transition document
Retention period: Decided by the organisation Clause 7.5.3.2, unless a law sets another, such as the chronological waste record

Contents

ISO 14001 templates and records

Clauses are cited with the ISO 14001:2015 numbering, the same one the Academy uses. The 2026 edition was published on 15 April 2026 and 2015 certificates must transition to it before 30 April 2029.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

Which records are mandatory in ISO 14001?

Those the standard asks you to retain: evidence of competence (7.2), of communications where appropriate (7.4), monitoring and measurement results (9.1.1), compliance evaluation (9.1.2), the audit programme and results (9.2.2), management review (9.3) and nonconformities with their actions (10.2). In addition, environmental aspects, legal requirements, risks and opportunities and objectives, among others, must be maintained as documented information.

Do the records change with the 2026 edition?

The clause structure stays the same, but it is worth reviewing each record against the new text when preparing the transition. While it lasts, 2015 certificates remain valid and the numbering used here is the one auditors will find on them.

Does the law require any of these records?

Some coincide with legal obligations. The clearest is the chronological waste record under article 64 of Spain’s Law 7/2022, which registered companies and producers of more than 10 tonnes a year of non-hazardous waste must keep, and which is retained for at least five years.

Do the same records work for EMAS?

Largely, yes, because EMAS incorporates the requirements of ISO 14001. EMAS adds the validated environmental statement and greater emphasis on core performance indicators.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

ISO 14001:2015 — Environmental management systems. Requirements with guidance for use ISO · 2015 edition, with Amd 1:2024; superseded by the 2026 edition
ISO 14001:2026 — Environmental management systems. Requirements with guidance for use ISO · 2026 edition, published on 15 April 2026
Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-04-30 (M) — Transition Requirements for ISO 14001:2026 Global ACI · Issued on 4 September 2026
Law 7/2022 of 8 April on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy BOE-A-2022-5809 · 9 April 2022, consolidated text
Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 (EMAS) EUR-Lex · 25 November 2009

ISO 14001 templates and records

In one sentence

ISO 14001 templates and records

Environmental aspects matrix

Environmental legal requirements

Evaluation of compliance

Environmental risks and opportunities

Environmental objectives

Environmental communications

Waste register

Environmental emergency drill

Environmental consumption and indicators

Environmental incident and nonconformity

What people ask us before getting started

Which records are mandatory in ISO 14001?

Do the records change with the 2026 edition?

Does the law require any of these records?

Do the same records work for EMAS?

Keep your ISO 14001 records without loose templates

Related pages

ISO 14001, without folders or surprises

ISO 14001:2015 · Environmental management

Where each figure comes from