ACT passes ISO 14001 recertification

ACT, Wales’ largest training provider, has recently passed its recertification for the ISO 14001 standard.  

ISO 14001 is the internationally recognised standard for environmental management systems. Following an independent external audit, ACT has met the requirements needed to effectively manage and reduce the environmental impact of its operations. 

The certification covers all aspects of ACT’s environmental management, from reducing waste and improving energy efficiency across its centres to considering the wider environmental impact of its activities and the communities it serves. 

Retaining ISO 14001 comes at a time when environmental sustainability is becoming an increasingly important consideration for organisations across every sector. Climate change, resource management and environmental resilience are now recognised as significant long-term business challenges, with organisations expected to demonstrate not only environmental awareness but a plan of action. 

Sustainability Advisor, Hannah Mayled, who ensured ACT retained its ISO 14001 accreditation said: “Each year the World Economic Forum publishes their Global Risks Report. The report published this year shows that five out of the top 10 biggest anticipated risks are environmental, with the highest rated risk being extreme weather events.  

“This year has started to show the impacts climate change starting to manifest in the UK with extreme rainfall, flooding, heat and wildfire events becoming more common and disruptive. Moving forward, these events will likely have an increasingly large impact on different areas of society and our day-to-day activities.  

Now when we look at long-term challenges to business, environmental risks dominate the landscape.  

“Part of the ISO14001 compliance process requires ACT to look at all of the environmental risks and opportunities that we face as a business. Complying with the standard means creating an environmental management system that asks how we can better prepare for these challenges as an organisation, and how we can continuously improve on our environmental performance. This means that not only is ACT reducing its impact on the environment each year, it is also more resilient to environmental risks as they are continuously assessed.  

“Holding ISO14001 certification also demonstrates ACT’s commitment to being a sustainable business that champions the environment. An official certification gives other groups confidence that when they work with ACT, they’re working with an environmentally responsible business that they can trust.” 

If you would like to take the first steps towards a more sustainable business, you can find a qualification that’s right for you and your team here.