The series of questions in the files aim to identify to what extent your environmental management system is complete in comparison to the requirements set in the ISO 14001:2015 standard.
To facilitate the self-assessment process, the following scoring convention can be used. A score of “0” indicates that the organization has failed to address a particular requirement of the standard. As an example, the standard requires the organization to periodically evaluate compliance with its compliance obligations. A score of “0” would apply if a process had not been established and implemented.
A score of “1” would apply in instances where the organization has partially implemented a requirement of the standard. As an example, the organization has established and implemented processes for internal and external communication; however, the communication process does not specify “how to communicate” (the communication methods) – furthermore, documented information is not maintained as evidence of its communication.
A score of “2” would apply if the organization can provide objective evidence that it has completely fulfilled a requirement of the standard. As an example, the standard requires top management reviews of the EMS to ensure its suitability, adequacy and effectiveness. The organization maintains documented information evidencing the completion of the reviews that include all the requisite inputs and outputs specified in the standard.
For purposes of evaluating the implementation status of the EMS, one might interpret that the lower the score, the more work will be required to attain compliance with the standard. This is true; however, one should also be mindful of the number of “0” scores as the effort to close that gap will be much greater than closing the gaps for requirements which have been partially implemented.