| Approx Course Duration *: | Approx 8 hours full-time study* |
| Access to Course Content: | 18 Months from the date of enrolment |
| Qualification/s: | ISO 14001:2015 to 2026 Bridging Course for Environmental Specialists |
ISO 14001:2026 Environmental Management Systems Transition Upgrade
The ISO 14001 environmental management system standard is undergoing its next major revision, with ISO 14001:2026 expected to be published in March or April 2026. This upgrade course is designed for qualified ISO 14001 professionals—including auditors, implementers, and consultants—who need to understand and apply the revised requirements without repeating a full qualification.
This focused transition upgrade helps you stay current and credible as organisations begin planning and implementing their ISO 14001:2026 transition.
Why ISO 14001:2026 Matters
ISO 14001 is the world’s most widely used environmental management system (EMS) standard. Each revision reflects changes in environmental expectations, regulatory pressures, stakeholder demands, and how organisations are expected to manage environmental risk and performance.
The ISO 14001:2026 revision is expected to:
- Improve clarity and consistency of EMS requirements
- Strengthen integration of environmental management with organisational strategy and governance
- Increase emphasis on environmental performance and outcomes, not just system conformity
- Reinforce lifecycle thinking, including supply chain and value-chain impacts
- Better reflect emerging environmental priorities such as climate change, resource use, and sustainability expectations
For professionals working with ISO 14001, this means changes to implementation approaches, audit focus, performance evaluation, and how conformity is assessed.
Who This Course Is For
This ISO 14001:2026 upgrade is intended for professionals who already hold an ISO 14001:2015 qualification, including:
- ISO 14001 auditors (internal or external)
- Environmental managers and EMS implementers
- Consultants supporting ISO 14001 systems and transitions
- Audit program managers overseeing environmental audits
This is not an entry-level course. It is a targeted upgrade that addresses only the gaps between ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 14001:2026.
Why You Shouldn’t Wait for ISO 14001:2026 to Upskill
The revision of ISO 14001 does not mean ISO 14001:2015 becomes irrelevant overnight. Following publication, organisations are typically given a formal transition period to migrate from the previous edition of the standard.
During this time, ISO 14001 professionals must be able to:
- Continue working with ISO 14001:2015 where applicable
- Assess transition planning and implementation progress
- Apply ISO 14001:2026 requirements once adopted
- Make consistent, defensible audit and conformity decisions
This course prepares you to operate confidently across all stages of the ISO 14001:2026 transition—before, during, and after adoption.
If you’re developing capability in environmental management systems and don’t yet hold an ISO 14001:2015 qualification, we recommend training to the current standard now. ISO 14001:2015 will remain actively used by organisations and certification bodies throughout the transition period.
Completing your ISO 14001:2015 qualification now means that when ISO 14001:2026 is released, you’ll typically only need the bridging update, rather than repeating a full program.
Check out all of our current ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System courses here.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will ISO 14001:2026 be published?
ISO 14001:2026 is expected to be published in March or April 2026, subject to ISO approval processes.
Can organisations still use ISO 14001:2015?
Yes. ISO 14001:2015 will remain valid during the formal transition period. Organisations and professionals must, however, understand and manage transition requirements appropriately.
Is this course suitable for beginners?
No. This course assumes prior ISO 14001:2015 knowledge and is designed specifically as a transition upgrade.
Will this prepare me to work with ISO 14001:2026?
Yes. This course is designed to support professional competence for implementing, auditing, and assessing ISO 14001:2026 once it is published and adopted.
This ISO 14001 transition update uses a clear, consistent change-classification framework to help you quickly understand what has changed, what has been clarified, and where your environmental management system may need attention as part of the ISO 14001:2026 revision.
The course is delivered in a clause-by-clause format, with each clause and focus area reviewed and categorised to show how the standard has been refined or developed, not simply that a change exists.
This approach makes it easy to distinguish between:
- editorial or structural improvements, and
- changes that may impact implementation, auditing, or ISO 14001 transition planning.
The course highlights the following types of ISO 14001:2026 changes:
- Additions – new clauses, subclauses, or defined terms
- Clarifications – clearer wording with no change to intent
- Enhancements – improved structure or internal alignment and increased emphasis on existing expectations
- Expansions – additional detail within existing requirements
This structured review allows you to quickly see what’s new, what’s different, and what matters for ISO 14001 audit readiness and environmental management system updates, without revisiting or re-teaching the full standard.
This course is currently undergoing certification and will be available shortly.
Register Your Interest Enquire about this courseCourse details:
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Coming Soon
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Approx 0 hours full-time study*
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Standard: ISO 14001:2026
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No prerequisites required
* All ATOL courses are delivered in such a way you can work through them at your own pace, the actual time to complete the training may change depending on the individual learners' experience and/or learning style
NO PREREQUISITES