Update Details: The ISO 14001 Toolkit has been updated for ISO 14001:2026 and now includes a separate standalone EMS option for organisations not pursuing ISO 9001 alongside.
The ISO 14001 Toolkit has previously been supplied as the ISO 9001 / 14001 Toolkit with notes on which 9001-specific content to ignore or delete if only ISO 14001 was required. This worked but left customers to do the editing themselves to remove quality references from the IMS1 manual and supporting documents.
The toolkit has now been improved by adding a separate Standalone EMS folder alongside the full 9001 / 14001 toolkit so can now choose which version to work from depending on whether you want a single management system covering both quality and environmental, or an environmental-only management system.
What's in the Standalone EMS option
The Standalone EMS folder contains three files that can be slotted in to replace the equivalent 9001 / 14001 content:
- IMS1-EMS_Manual.docx - the management system manual rewritten as an environmental-only EMS. Quality management content has been removed and the structure reworked around environmental context, environmental performance monitoring and the environmental procedures.
- ISO 14001:2026 Correlation - correlation document specific to the EMS manual, mapping the standalone EMS sections to ISO 14001:2026 clauses.
- Guidance file - explains the choice between the integrated IMS approach and the standalone EMS approach and tells the user which files to use from the parent toolkit alongside the EMS manual.
Which option to use
The integrated 9001 / 14001 approach remains the right choice for organisations that want quality and environmental management in one system, or that plan to pursue ISO 9001 certification alongside ISO 14001. The standalone EMS option is for organisations that want a focused environmental management system without quality management content in their manual.
Both options share the same forms, registers, procedures, audit checklists and supporting documents from the parent toolkit. The Standalone EMS folder only changes the manual, correlation and the guidance on which other files to use.
ISO 14001:2026 Compliant
Both the integrated 9001 / 14001 IMS manual and the new Standalone EMS manual have been updated to align with ISO 14001:2026, which was published on 15 April 2026. The updates cover environmental conditions in context (clause 4.1), normal and abnormal aspect conditions (clause 6.1.2), planning of changes (new clause 6.3) and audit objectives (clause 9.2.2). Both options also remain fully suitable for organisations still operating to ISO 14001:2015.
Pages Updated:
Published: 25 May 2026
