Clause 6.1.3StrengthenedHigh impact typical effort 4-8 hours
Compliance obligations — determined, accessible and applied
What changed in the 2026 revision
Clause 6.1.3 requires the organisation to determine and have access to the compliance obligations related to its environmental aspects, determine how they apply, take them into account when establishing and maintaining the EMS, and maintain documented information of them. This is separate from evaluating compliance under 9.1.2.
What auditors will look for
Maintain a register of compliance obligations tied to your environmental aspects, recording how each one applies to you and where it is kept up to date. Determining obligations (6.1.3) and evaluating compliance with them (9.1.2) are separate requirements.
How to close the gap
- 1Build or update a compliance obligations register linked to your aspects.
- 2Record how each obligation applies — which activity, which limit, which site.
- 3Name the update mechanism that keeps it current, and its review frequency.
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 6
6.1.4 — Risks and opportunities — restructured into d…6.1.2 — Environmental aspects — lifecycle perspective…6.1.2 — Emergency situations separated from abnormal …6.3 — Planning and managing of changes (NEW clause)6.1.5 — Planning actions — renumbered and outcome-foc…6.2 — Environmental objectives and planning to achi…
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