A few months ago, we ran a series of webinars walking you through the ISO 14001:2026 revision and what it would mean for your certification. Since then, the standard has been published, the transition clock has officially started, and we wanted to check in: how's your transition planning going?

If you've already kicked off your gap analysis, brilliant, you're ahead of most. If it's still sitting on the to-do list, this is a good moment to get it moving. Here's a quick refresher on where things stand, plus some practical next steps building on what we covered in the webinars.

Quick Recap: What's Changed

As we discussed, this is an evolution of the standard, not a rewrite. Your existing EMS - the PDCA cycle, leadership commitment, environmental aspects, internal audits, management review - doesn't need to be rebuilt. It needs targeted updates in a handful of areas:

• Climate change is now core, not bolted on. The 2024 Climate Change Amendment is fully folded into the standard, and the 2026edition extends that same scrutiny to biodiversity, ecosystem health, pollution levels, andnaturalresource availability.
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• Harmonized Structure. Terminology is now consistent with other management system standards (ISO/IEC 27001, and soon ISO 9001), making integration easier if you're running multiple systems.
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• Supply chain scrutiny has increased. Operational planning and control now expects more visibility into externally provided processes, products, and services.
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• A new change management clause. Formalises something many of you were likely already doing informally.
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• More structured management reviews. With sharper emphasis on evaluating environmental performance, not just compliance.

Where You Should Be by Now

If you attended the webinars, you'll remember the timeline: a three-year transition window from the April 2026 publication date, with certificates to the 2015 standard remaining valid until April 2029 at the latest (your certification body will confirm your exact date). New certificates against 2015 stop being issued around October 2027, so anyone not yet certified should already be planning against the 2026 edition.

Three years feels like plenty of runway until you map out gap analysis, documentation updates, staff training, supplier engagement, and at least one internal audit cycle before your transition audit. That's typically 12-18 months of real work for a mid-sized EMS, so if you haven't started, now's the time.

A Few Questions Worth Asking Yourselves

• Have you completed a clause-by-clause gap analysis against the 2026 text yet?
• Has your context analysis (Clause 4.1/4.2) been updated to reflect the broader environmental conditions - not just climate, but biodiversity and resource availability too?
• Have you spoken to your certification body about whether you'll fold the transition into your next surveillance audit or handle it as a standalone visit?
• Does your supply chain data give you what you need for the expanded operational control requirements?

We're Here to Help

If any of this feels like it's stalled, or you're not sure where you stand against the checklist we shared in the webinars, get in touch. We're happy to run a gap analysis with you, help update your risk and opportunity documentation, or just talk through where you are in the process. No pressure, just want to make sure nobody's caught out scrambling in 2028.

Let us know how you're getting on - Contact us here