An activity is what the site does. An aspect is how that activity interacts or can interact with the environment. An impact is a change to the environment, adverse or beneficial, that can follow from the aspect. A completed descriptive row can remain unscored. A significance decision follows an organisation-authored method applied to named evidence. Completing a row does not implement ISO 14001 and does not certify the site.

Read the EMS overview this register does not replace. Keep certification on the ISO 14001 guide. Put an uncertain business event on the risk register. Use the six questions for an event system, not this register.

What one register row records

ISO 14001:2026 is the current edition on the ISO catalogue, published 15 April 2026. Certification is optional. ISO 14001:2015 is withdrawn. This register does not cover a numbered clause and does not state a transition deadline.

A risk that an uncertain event could affect a business objective belongs on the risk register. The same activity may appear in both files. The fields and purpose differ.

row_status is incomplete or recorded. recorded means activity, aspect and impact are filled. A blank activity, aspect or impact keeps the row incomplete. significance_result is not_scored, significant or not_significant. A recorded row can stay not_scored. Significance may change only when significance_method is an explicit organisation-authored method and that method has been applied to the named evidence_reference. Two non-empty cells are not enough.

Fill in one activity row

Download both files. Save a copy of the blank file and type into that copy.

The files are plain CSV. They do not calculate a score. Columns: row_id, activity, aspect, impact, condition, control_or_influence, evidence_reference, significance_method, significance_result, row_status.

condition is normal, abnormal, emergency or unknown. control_or_influence is control, influence or unknown. There is no official threshold. Exeter’s published 30-or-more cut-off and the EMS guide’s 1-to-5 example are not required scales. No certification or clause-coverage field is added.

Worked example: one significance decision and two rows that stay open

The example is fictional. Northgate Services is an invented leased office.

Row What was written Status
NS-A1 electricity Activity office electricity use. Aspect electricity consumption. Impact contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions from the supplier mix. Evidence bill folder BF-2025. Method: treat all purchased electricity as an internal review priority. Recorded and significant. The fictional bills show electricity was purchased and billed, so they meet that firm-selected criterion. The criterion is not a legal requirement.
NS-A2 paper Activity, aspect and impact filled. Method and evidence blank. Recorded and not scored. A completed description can stay unscored.
NS-A3 deliveries Activity contractor deliveries. Aspect unknown. Impact blank. Incomplete.

Limits

A recorded row means the three labels are filled. It does not implement ISO 14001:2026 and does not certify the site. ISO itself does not certify organisations.

Your next action

Put an uncertain business event on the risk register.

Sources