Templates and records · ISO 14001 · Clause 6.1.1

ISO 14001 environmental risks and opportunities register

What could prevent or help the environmental system achieve its intended outcomes, arising from the context, the aspects and the obligations, with the action planned for each one.

In one sentence

The environmental risks and opportunities register records the risks and opportunities arising from the context, the environmental aspects and the compliance obligations, together with the actions to address them; unlike ISO 9001, ISO 14001 does require that information to be maintained as documented information, as well as the processes to address them (6.1.1).

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: ISO 14001 · Clause 6.1.1 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 (6.1.1)
Who fills it in: Environmental manager with top management Management validates the result because it shapes resources and objectives
When: During annual planning and when things change Also when significant aspects change or a relevant legal requirement appears
How long it is kept: Current version plus history The history shows how risks evolve and whether the actions worked

What the standard requires

What ISO 14001 demands and what it leaves to your judgement

The standard asks you to determine the risks and opportunities related to environmental aspects, compliance obligations and issues of context and interested parties, including potential emergency situations. And, unlike the quality standard, it requires them to be maintained as documented information.

It does not impose an evaluation method. What it asks is that actions are planned, integrated into the processes and evaluated for effectiveness.

Amendment Amd 1:2024 added that the organisation must determine whether climate change is a relevant issue. In practice, this register is the natural place to capture physical risks —flooding, drought, heatwaves— and transition risks.

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

Structure

Fields the template should include

Origin: context, interested party, environmental aspect, legal requirement, emergency
Description of the risk or opportunity
Rating (likelihood and consequence or another criterion)
Planned action, owner and deadline
Integration: objective, operational control or emergency plan
Evaluation of the action’s effectiveness
Review date

Example

Example: two entries for a riverside plant (fictitious company)

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

Field	Content
Risk	Flooding of the hazardous waste storage area during heavy rainfall
Origin	Context: climate change; the plant sits in a 100-year return period flood zone according to the official map
Rating	Medium likelihood · high consequence · priority 1
Action	Raise the waste store on a platform and review the emergency plan · maintenance manager · March 2026
Effectiveness	Works completed on 18 March; flood drill planned for November
Opportunity	Regional grant for solar self-consumption
Action	Feasibility study and inclusion in objective OA-2026-01
Review	20 January 2026 · next review in the 2027 planning

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

The quality risk matrix is reused without a single environmental risk.
Climate change does not appear, not even to say it is not relevant.
Risks identified with no action and no justification for accepting them.
The effectiveness of actions is not evaluated.
Risks and significant aspects follow separate paths and are never linked.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Environmental risks are integrated into the same risk register as the rest of the system, with their origin identified.
2Each action is assigned an owner and a date, and the system warns you if it slips.
3Repeated nonconformities feed the risk map.
4The register is versioned, with review date and owner.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

Why must they be documented in ISO 14001 but not in ISO 9001?

Because each standard words it differently: ISO 14001 requires documented information on risks and opportunities and their processes to be maintained; ISO 9001 only asks for them to be determined and for actions to be planned. With an integrated system, a single register covers both.

Does climate change have to be addressed?

You have to determine whether it is a relevant issue, following the 2024 amendment. If it is, it will appear as a risk or opportunity; if not, it is wise to record that conclusion.

Are environmental risks and significant aspects the same?

No. A significant aspect is a potential risk to the environment; the system risk is whatever could stop the company achieving its environmental outcomes. They are related, but each one answers a different question.

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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