BS EN ISO/IEC 17021-2:2018

What is ISO 17021-2 - Conformity assessment about?  

ISO 17021 is a series on Conformity assessment. Conformity assessment is testing or other activities that determine whether a process, product, or service complies with the requirements of a specification, technical standard, contract, or regulation. ISO 17021-2 specifies additional competence requirements for personnel involved in the audit and the certification process for environmental management systems (EMS) and complements the existing requirements of ISO 17021-1. 

Who is ISO 17021-2 - Conformity assessment? 

ISO 17021-2 on conformity assessment applies to: 

• Internal and external auditors 
• All organizations 
• Certification bodies 
• Clients and their customers who are involved in EMS audits 

Why should you use ISO 17021-2 - Conformity assessment?  

The test procedures in conformity assessment may involve other criteria from mathematical testing or chemical testing. ISO 17021-2 is a management tool comprising a systematic documented, periodic, and objective evaluation of how well environmental organization, management and equipment are performing to help to safeguard the environment by facilitating management control of environmental practices and assessing compliance with company policies which would include meeting regulatory requirements. 

ISO 17021-2 clarifies the requirements for the competence of personnel involved in the certification process. ISO 17021-2 helps audit reports which is a useful asset in applying the principle of polluter pays principle and user-pays principle for the protection of the environment. Using ISO 17021-2 you can specify additional competence requirements for personnel involved in the audit and the certification process for environmental management systems (EMS). 

What’s changed since the last update?  

ISO 17021-2:2018 supersedes ISO TS 17021-2:2016. ISO 17021-2:2018 includes some technical changes with respect to ISO TS 17021-2:2016. These include: 

• Addition of the new requirements of ISO 14001:2015 which required additional competence to audit them 
• Adaptation of the competence requirements to reflect the greater focus in ISO 14001:2015 on expected outcomes 
• Clarification of the difference between sustainable development and sustainability 
• Inclusion of competence criteria for the auditor to understand the context of the organization 
• Inclusion of competence to audit the reliability of client communications about their ems