Management system guidance
9.1 Monitoring, Measurement, Analysis and Evaluation
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9.1.1 General
Clause 9.1.1 requires your organization to evaluate both its environmental performance and the effectiveness of its environmental management system. To do this, it must determine:
- What needs to be monitored, measured and analyzed;
- How monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation will be done, where applicable, so that results are valid;
- The criteria for evaluating environmental performance, and appropriate indicators;
- When monitoring and measuring are to be performed;
- When the results are to be analyzed and evaluated.
Your organization must also use and maintain monitoring and measuring equipment that has been calibrated or verified where appropriate, and must share relevant environmental performance information both inside and outside the organization, in line with its communication process(es) and any compliance obligations. Suitable documented information must be available as evidence of the monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation results.
What changed in ISO 14001:2026
The requirement is largely unchanged. Item a) now refers to what needs to be monitored, measured and analyzed, making analysis an explicit part of the planning, and the records requirement is now expressed as documented information being ‘available as evidence’ of results rather than ‘retained’. The revised definition of ‘indicator’ in Clause 3 (now based on ISO 14031:2021) makes clear that indicators can describe environmental impacts as well as the condition of operations or management, so it is worth checking that your indicators reflect your actual impacts.
What to monitor and measure
In addition to progress on environmental objectives, your organization should take account of its significant environmental aspects, compliance obligations and operational controls. Typical examples include:
- Energy, water and raw material consumption;
- Emissions to air, discharges to water and noise levels, especially where limits are set by permits or consents;
- Waste generated, segregated, recycled and sent to landfill;
- Greenhouse gas emissions and other climate-related indicators;
- Operational controls related to significant aspects, such as bund inspections, interceptor checks and spill kit audits (see 8.1);
- Performance of externally provided processes, products or services that affect your environmental performance, such as waste contractors;
- Environmental incidents, near misses and complaints;
- The status of compliance obligations (evaluated under 9.1.2 Evaluation of compliance).
Ensuring valid results
Define your methods within the EMS so that the timing of monitoring is coordinated with when analysis is needed, results are reliable, reproducible and traceable, and analysis and evaluation are reliable enough to show trends. This may include using statistical techniques, normalized indicators (e.g. energy per unit produced) and accredited laboratories for regulatory sampling. Equipment such as flow meters, gas analyzers and noise meters should be calibrated or verified at defined intervals, with records kept.
Evaluating performance and effectiveness
Measurement alone is not enough: results must be analyzed and evaluated against the criteria and indicators you have set, and the findings reported to those with responsibility and authority to act. Evaluating the effectiveness of the EMS means asking whether it is achieving its intended outcomes: enhancing environmental performance, meeting compliance obligations and achieving environmental objectives. Inputs to this evaluation can include:
- Monitoring and measurement results and trends;
- Progress against environmental objectives;
- Compliance evaluation results;
- Internal and external audit findings (see 9.2 Internal audit);
- Nonconformities, incidents and corrective actions;
- Communications from interested parties, including complaints.
A practical approach to setting up monitoring is to work through these steps:
- Step 1 – Identify the activities associated with significant environmental aspects, compliance obligations and risks;
- Step 2 – Determine the key characteristics of each activity to be monitored;
- Step 3 – Select the best way to measure those characteristics and set criteria and indicators;
- Step 4 – Determine the frequency of measurement and of analysis;
- Step 5 – Record data on performance, operational controls and progress against objectives;
- Step 6 – Analyze, evaluate and report the results, including to 9.3 Management review.
Remember to communicate relevant environmental performance information externally where your communication process or compliance obligations require it, for example annual emissions returns to a regulator (see 7.4.3 External communication).
You should seek and record evidence that your organization has determined what to monitor, measure and analyze, with methods, criteria, indicators and timing; that monitoring equipment is calibrated or verified; that results are analyzed and evaluated to judge environmental performance and EMS effectiveness; that relevant performance information is communicated internally and externally as required; and that documented information on the results is available.
More information on PDCA
Planning
Context
Planning
Support
Doing
Support
Operations
Checking
Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation
Acting
Improvement
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