ISO 14001:2026
All environmental aspects and compliance obligations.
Revised in 2026.Software · environmental management systems, cited
Environmental management software: running an EMS after ISO 14001:2026
Environmental management software runs the system behind an organisation’s environmental commitments: what it affects, what the law and its permits require, what it aims to improve and the evidence that it did.
ISO 14001:2026 replaced the 2015 edition in April 2026; this page sets out what that means for a tool, what a certificate and a permit actually prove, and lists 11 vendors in their own words.
What the software does
What does environmental management software do?
An environmental management system is a set of processes, owned by named people, for knowing and controlling an organisation’s effects on the environment.
Software holds the registers, the evidence and the actions, so that the system survives staff changes and an auditor can sample it.
The certification tooling for the standard itself is on ISO 14001 software; the disclosure end, from SECR to UK SRS, is on environmental reporting software.
- 1
Context
The organisation, its sites, and the environmental conditions that affect it.
- 2
Aspects and obligations
What it affects, and what law, permits and customers require.
- 3
Objectives
Measurable aims, owners and indicators.
- 4
Control
Procedures, permits, monitoring and incidents.
- 5
Check and improve
Audits, nonconformities, management review.
ISO 14001:2026
What changes for software under ISO 14001:2026?
- 15 April 202601
- 7 May 202602
UKAS gap analysis
Significant change at clauses 4.1–4.2, 6.1.1, 6.1.2, the new 6.1.4 and 6.3, 8.1, 10.1, and the removed 10.3. - 30 April 202703
- 31 October 202704
- 30 April 202905
UKAS rates the change as significant in the clauses on context, risks and opportunities, planning of changes, operational control and improvement, according to its gap analysis.
A tool built for the 2015 clause structure needs to map its registers and workflows to the new clauses before a site’s transition audit.
ISO’s own summary of the revision is on its “what has changed” page.
What a certificate proves
Does an ISO 14001 certificate prove environmental performance?
No: ISO 14001 says in its own scope that it “does not state specific environmental performance criteria”.
The standard adds that adopting its requirements “will not in itself guarantee optimal environmental outcomes”, and that two organisations with different performance goals can both conform.
So environmental management software proves that a system runs; the performance figures it holds have to stand on their own evidence.
Read how to check a certificate
ISO does not perform certification, and accreditation of a certification body is not compulsory, according to ISO.
UKAS accredits environmental management system certification bodies, and only accredited certificates carry the UKAS mark; anyone can check one free on UKAS CertCheck.
Audit time is set by IAF MD 5:2023 from the number of effective personnel and the complexity of the site; an audit day is normally eight hours.
Four ways to show conformityExplore
Four ways to show conformity
Self-declaration
The organisation determines and declares conformity itself.
Four ways to show conformity
Confirmation by interested parties
For example customers confirming it.
Four ways to show conformity
External confirmation
Of the organisation’s own self-declaration.
Four ways to show conformity
Certification
By a certification body; accredited by UKAS or not.
Permits and compliance obligations
How does a permit breach show up in the numbers?
Category 1 breach
60 pointsOne alone puts a site in band DCategory 2 breach
31 pointsEnvironment Agency scoringCategory 3 breach
4 pointsEnvironment Agency scoringBand F charge
300%Of the subsistence chargeA regulated facility may operate only under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit, under regulation 12 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016, which extend to England and Wales.
In England the Environment Agency scores every permit breach, and a single category 1 breach of 60 points puts a site in band D, raising the next year’s subsistence charge to 125% with no prosecution at all, according to its scoring guidance.
That is why an EMS tool for a permitted site should hold the permit conditions as compliance obligations, with owners and check dates, rather than as a filed PDF.
| Band | Points in the year | Subsistence charge |
|---|---|---|
| A | 0 | 95% |
| B | 0.1 to 10 | 100% |
| C | 10.1 to 30 | 110% |
| D | 30.1 to 60 | 125% |
| E | 60.1 to 149.9 | 150% |
| F | more than 150 | 300% |
Energy inside the EMS
Does an EMS tool also need to manage energy?
Often it does, because energy is usually the largest environmental aspect, but energy has its own standard.
ISO 50001:2018 was confirmed in 2024 and is not being revised alongside ISO 14001.
The government decided in October 2024 that an energy management system “will not be mandatory” for the new Climate Change Agreements scheme, while recommending one, according to its consultation response.
The Environment Agency’s permitting guidance accepts an energy management system like ISO 50001 or the best-available-techniques route, so neither is required on its own.
The energy side is covered on energy management software.
Management
systems
systems
ISO 50001:2018
Energy performance, with indicators and baselines.
Confirmed in 2024; an ESOS route where it covers total or significant consumption.The tests before you sign
Which questions should an EMS demo answer?
Each question beside this names the source it comes from and what a passing answer looks like.
Run them on one real site with one real permit, because a demonstration site never has a breach to score.
This site has tested no products
Nothing on this page is a rating, ranking or recommendation of any product.
Environmental management demo questions · tick the ones you need
The pass tests are our reading of the cited provisions.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
The vendors
11 environment, health and safety platforms, in their own words
Every vendor this site files under EHS, alphabetically, which ranks nothing, each linked to its own site and its profile here. Each is described in its own words, so you can see what it says it does well.
The registry covers 73 vendors across all categories, read 11 October 2026 and 30 September–1 October 2026.
11 vendors · ehs
“Benchmark Gensuite is a unified EHS management software platform built on a single architecture—connecting safety, environmental compliance, and operational risk across every site”
“One AI-enabled EHS software platform to drive performance across employee health, safety, quality, environmental, and sustainability”
“Dcycle is an ESG software platform founded in 2020 that helps companies collect, manage, and govern sustainability and non-financial data”
EcoOnline sells software to manage EHS and compliance.
“Enablon is Wolters Kluwer’s integrated software platform for environment, health and safety, PSM, and enterprise oversight, with ESG capabilities embedded as part of a broader risk approach”
“Manage safety, compliance, ESG, sustainability and operational risk from a platform built to keep programs reliable across sites, teams and operational change”
“Ideagen Carbon Accounting is an AI-powered solution designed to address complex multi-region ESG reporting challenges in carbon accounting”
“Bring safety, environment, and quality workflows into one connected platform”
IsoMetrix sells software to “manage their environmental, health, safety, sustainability, and social risks”.
“Digitally handle occupational safety, quality, sustainability, and environmental management”
“Sphera unifies risk, safety and sustainability into a single enterprise-wide view — connecting intelligence across operations, products and supply chains”
Alphabetical, which ranks nothing.
Each description is the vendor’s own words from its own site, read 11 October 2026 and 30 September–1 October 2026; prices appear only where the vendor publishes one.
No product here has been tested by this site.
11 vendors, own wordsExplore
11 vendors, own words
Filed under EHS
11 vendors in this site’s registry.
11 vendors, own words
Alphabetical
The order ranks nothing.
11 vendors, own words
Their own words
What each vendor says about itself, read 11 October 2026 and 30 September–1 October 2026.
11 vendors, own words
ISO 14001:2026
Not recorded in the registry: ask each vendor when its clause mapping moved to the 2026 edition.
For the board
Environmental management, in one sentence
A certificate shows our system works, and only our own figures show our impact, so the software has to hold both.
Takeaways
Five facts, then the next step
| Fact | Source |
|---|---|
| ISO 14001:2026 replaced the 2015 edition on 15 April 2026. | ISO |
| UK certificates must all move to the 2026 edition by 30 April 2029. | UKAS bulletin |
| The standard sets no environmental performance criteria. | ISO 14001, Clause 1 |
| One category 1 permit breach puts an English site in band D. | Environment Agency |
| ISO 50001:2018 was confirmed in 2024 and is not being revised. | ISO |
What an EMS record should proveExplore
What an EMS record should prove
Obligations known
Every permit condition and legal duty, with an owner.
What an EMS record should prove
Breaches closed
Root cause, action and verification.
What an EMS record should prove
Certificate checked
Accredited, current and to the right edition.
Next: map your current system to the significant 2026 clauses using the UKAS gap analysis, then put the demo questions to the vendors on your list.
Frequently asked
Environmental management software, answered
What is environmental management software?
Software that runs an environmental management system: the register of environmental aspects, the compliance obligations, objectives, operational controls, incidents, nonconformities and the evidence an auditor will ask for.
It is usually built around ISO 14001, whether or not the organisation is certified.
Which version of ISO 14001 applies now?
ISO 14001:2026, published on 15 April 2026. It cancels and replaces ISO 14001:2015 and its 2024 amendment.
UK certification bodies must transition their certified customers by 30 April 2029, according to UKAS.
What are the ISO 14001:2026 transition dates in the UK?
From the UKAS technical bulletin: certification bodies must be accredited to audit the new edition by 30 April 2027; no new certifications to the 2015 edition after 31 October 2027; all certified customers transitioned by 30 April 2029.
Does an ISO 14001 certificate prove good environmental performance?
No. The standard says it “does not state specific environmental performance criteria”, and two organisations with different performance goals can both conform.
A certificate attests that the management system meets the standard.
Does a company need to be certified to use an EMS?
No. ISO 14001 itself lists four ways to show conformity, including self-declaration; certification is one of them.
Accreditation of the certification body is not compulsory either, but only UKAS-accredited certificates carry the UKAS mark.
How do I check an ISO 14001 certificate?
ISO does not certify anyone.
Check the certificate on UKAS CertCheck, which is free, and confirm the certification body is accredited for environmental management systems.
Is environmental management software the same as environmental compliance software?
They overlap.
Compliance software focuses on legal and permit obligations: permit conditions, monitoring returns and breach records.
A full EMS adds aspects, objectives and continual improvement around those obligations.
How does the Environment Agency score permit compliance?
In England each permit breach is scored by category — 60 points for category 1, 31 for category 2, 4 for category 3 and 0.1 for category 4 — and the year’s total puts the site in a band from A to F, which sets the next year’s subsistence charge from 95% to 300%.
Is ISO 50001 also being revised?
No. ISO 50001:2018 was reviewed and confirmed in 2024 and remains current, with one amendment on climate action.
It is the energy management standard, and in ESOS it is an alternative to the energy audit where it covers total or significant consumption.
Do UK schemes require an environmental or energy management system?
Generally not.
In October 2024 the government decided an energy management system would not be mandatory for the new Climate Change Agreements scheme, though it recommends one; and the Environment Agency’s permitting guidance accepts ISO 50001 or the best-available-techniques route for energy efficiency.
How long does an ISO 14001 audit take?
The certification body calculates it from IAF MD 5:2023, by effective personnel and complexity; an audit day is normally eight hours, and the body must give you its calculation.
Has this site tested any environmental management software?
No. This page is built from ISO, UKAS, the IAF, the Environmental Permitting Regulations and the Environment Agency, each cited.
The vendor list quotes what each vendor says about itself, alphabetically.
Sources
Primary sources
Every test on this page traces to the source listed here.
Vendor descriptions are cited on each vendor’s profile to the vendor’s own page.
Checked against 16 sources fromISOUKASIAFlegislation.gov.ukEnvironment AgencyDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero
- ISOISO 14001:2026 Environmental management systems — Requirements with guidance for use
Published 15 April 2026; replaces ISO 14001:2015 and its 2024 amendment.
- ISOISO 14001:2026 published (news)
ISO’s announcement of the fourth edition.
- ISOISO 14001 — what has changed
ISO’s own summary of the revision.
- UKASTechnical bulletin: EMS ISO 14001:2026 transition
The three UK transition dates.
- UKASAppendix A: ISO 14001:2026 gap analysis summary (7 May 2026)
Which clauses changed significantly.
- ISOCertification
ISO does not perform certification; accreditation is not compulsory.
- UKASCertification body accreditation
How EMS certification bodies are accredited.
- UKASCertCheck
Check an accredited certificate, free.
- IAFIAF MD 5:2023, audit time for management system certification
How long an ISO 14001 audit should take.
- legislation.gov.ukEnvironmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, regulation 12
No regulated facility without a permit.
- legislation.gov.ukEnvironmental Permitting Regulations 2016, regulation 1(2)
England and Wales only.
- Environment AgencyAssessing and scoring environmental permit compliance
Bands A to F and their effect on the subsistence charge, England.
- ISOISO 50001:2018 Energy management systems
Confirmed in 2024; not revised alongside ISO 14001.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroClimate Change Agreements: government response (October 2024)
An energy management system recommended, not mandatory.
- Environment Agency and DefraEnergy efficiency standards for industrial plants to get environmental permits
ISO 50001 or the BREF techniques.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410, Schedule 7 (SECR)
The annual energy and carbon disclosure an EMS often feeds.