ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2015 establish clear expectations for top management. Not only are executives accountable for the effectiveness of these respective systems, they also have specific tasks ranging from establishing objectives to supporting relevant managers in their roles.

All of these standards require that managers integrate requirements into the organization’s business process, thereby creating the need for an integrated management system (IMS). These managers will need to focus on the planning process to ensure that these systems meet the intended outcomes, as well as to establish performance objectives.

For those implementing an environmental management system (EMS), ISO 14001 expects the organization not only to include the prevention of pollution, but also protection of the environment. This requires top management to learn and understand what the standard means when it says “protect the environment.” Topics such as sustainability, climate change mitigation, and protection of biodiversity and ecosystems are suggested by the standard in a note.

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