Templates and records · ISO 14001 · Clause 6.1.2

ISO 14001 environmental aspects matrix template

The starting point of the environmental system: which activities, products and services affect the environment, how much, and on what basis you decide which ones matter.

In one sentence

The environmental aspects matrix links each activity, product or service with the aspect it generates —consumption, emission, discharge, waste— and its impact, under normal, abnormal and emergency conditions, and rates it against criteria defined beforehand; ISO 14001 requires the aspects, impacts, those criteria and which ones turn out to be significant to be maintained as documented information (6.1.2).

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: ISO 14001 · Clause 6.1.2 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.
Type of information: Mandatory document Documented information to be maintained (6.1.2)
Who fills it in: Environmental manager with each process owner The rating is discussed with whoever knows the activity; it is approved by management or someone they designate
When: When the system is introduced and with every change A new machine, product, facility or legal requirement; plus a periodic review, usually annual
How long it is kept: Current version plus history Kept up to date; retaining earlier versions helps explain why an aspect stopped being significant

What the standard requires

What ISO 14001 demands and what it leaves to your judgement

The standard asks you to identify the aspects the organisation can control and those it can influence, within the scope of the system and from a life cycle perspective. Changes, new or modified activities and reasonably foreseeable abnormal and emergency situations must all be considered.

The company chooses the evaluation method: scoring by magnitude, frequency and severity, or any other, provided it is written down before it is applied and used the same way across all processes. Significant aspects must be communicated within the organisation and feed the objectives, operational controls and risks.

A life cycle perspective does not mean carrying out a full life cycle assessment: it is enough to think about what happens upstream (purchasing, transport of raw materials) and downstream (use of the product, end of life) and what you can influence.

Read it in context: Planning, in the ISO 14001 Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Process, activity or product and site
Environmental aspect (consumption, emission, discharge, waste, noise, land use)
Associated impact
Condition: normal, abnormal or emergency
Life cycle stage and whether the aspect is direct or indirect
Evaluation criteria and score obtained
Result: significant or not significant
Related legal requirement, if any
Operational control, objective or emergency plan that addresses it
Evaluation date and next review

Example

Example: injection moulding line at a packaging plant (fictitious company)

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Process	Injection moulding of polypropylene containers · Riverside Packaging Ltd (fictitious) · plant with 85 people
Aspect	Electricity consumption of the injection moulding machines
Impact	Resource depletion and indirect greenhouse gas emissions
Condition	Normal · direct aspect · manufacturing stage
Rating	Magnitude 3 (1,150 MWh a year, 71 % of the total) × frequency 3 × control 2 = 18 out of 27
Criterion	Significant from 14 points, according to evaluation procedure v3
Result	Significant
Treatment	Objective OA-2026-01 to cut specific consumption, and control of idle start-ups
Another aspect on the same line	Hydraulic oil spill · emergency · significant · emergency plan PE-03
Review	Evaluated on 20 January 2026 · next review in January 2027

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

Only normal conditions are analysed; foreseeable spills, leaks or fires are missing.
Significance criteria are adjusted afterwards to produce a comfortable result.
No indirect aspects appear: suppliers, contracted transport or the customer’s use of the product.
The matrix is not reviewed after a plant extension or a new product.
Significant aspects with no associated operational control, objective or emergency plan.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Environmental aspects are recorded in each process on the map, with their significance evaluation method.
2Each significant aspect links to its objective, operating criterion or emergency plan, so you can see what addresses it.
3The matrix is a versioned record: each review is dated, with its owner.
4When an environmental nonconformity calls for it, the effectiveness check leads to an update of the aspects matrix.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

What is the difference between an environmental aspect and an impact?

The aspect is the element of the activity that interacts with the environment —electricity consumption, discharge of washing water—; the impact is the change it causes —resource depletion, water pollution—. The matrix links one to the other.

Is there a mandatory evaluation method?

No. The standard requires the criteria to be established and documented, not which ones. What auditors do check is that the method is applied consistently and that the results are reasonable for the activity.

How often is it reviewed?

Whenever there are changes and, in addition, at the frequency the company sets. An annual review, before setting the year’s objectives, is the most common practice.

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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
Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 (EMAS) EUR-Lex · 25 November 2009