Clause 4.4clarifiedHigh impact typical effort 4-8 hours
Environmental management system and its processes
What changed in the 2026 revision
Clause 4.4 requires the organisation to establish, implement, maintain and continually improve an EMS, including the processes needed and their interactions, and to incorporate the knowledge gained about its context under 4.1 and 4.2.
What auditors will look for
Document the processes that make up your EMS and how they interact — typically a process map or a section of the manual showing how context, planning, operation, evaluation and improvement connect. An auditor uses this to navigate your system.
How to close the gap
- 1Produce a process map or equivalent showing EMS processes and their interactions.
- 2Reference where each process is defined (procedure, register, or manual section).
- 3Show how context and interested-party knowledge feeds the system.
Does your documentation meet this requirement?
Free scan checks this and the other 38 tracked changes against your actual EMS documents.
More changes in Clause 4
4.1 — Broadened environmental conditions analysis4.1 — Climate change as standing context element4.2 — Interested parties — requirements identified …4.3 — EMS scope — lifecycle approach reflected4.3 — Scope boundaries — upstream and downstream co…
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