What is the difference between ISO 9001 and ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 is the most widely used environmental management standard in the world. It sets out the requirements for an environmental management system, making sure  your organization considers the environmental issues relevant to it, from waste management to water and air pollution. With ISO 14001 certification, you can control, measure and improve your environmental impact, while building trust with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders.

ISO 14001 is not just for global giants. Richard points out that the smallest organization he's ever worked with had just four employees, and universities and law firms are among the other kinds of organizations he assesses. "Everybody has an impact on the environment, to a greater or lesser degree," he says. A four-person company's impact won't come close to that of a large manufacturing site, but the standard asks every organization to identify what's significant to their size and sector.

What is changing in ISO 14001:2026 

For managing your environmental performance, ISO 14001:2026 is the leading framework to follow. It was published in April 2026, and replaces the 2015 version of ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management systems (EMS). The changes are moderate, but preparing for the transition can still raise questions. 

Rather than a wholesale rewrite, ISO 14001:2026 builds on ISO 14001:2015. There's a new clause on planning for change, meaning organizations now need a formal process to think through the environmental implications of a change before it happens, not after. As Richard puts it, "there needs to be a formal procedure to determine, plan and evaluate the environmental implications of changes before they actually occur." 

There are also wording updates throughout. One is that "compliance obligations" replaces "legislation," which Richard puts down partly to the fact that every ISO standard is drafted in English first and translated afterwards, so phrasing gets refined in each iteration.

For a detailed breakdown, read our article on what’s changing in the ISO 14001:2026 update.

ISO 9001 is the standard for quality management systems. "It's about the product or service that you offer," says Richard. It is interesting to note that the newest editions of ISO 9001 have started building in climate change considerations too, since even businesses focused on quality may feel the effects of climate change throughout their supply chains, such as delayed deliveries or issues with the quality of incoming goods.

While both International Standards are there to elevate your organizational management systems, ISO 9001 focuses on quality management while ISO 14001 is for environmental management. Each one centers on a different aspect of your business.

The clearest way to see the difference, Richard explains, is to picture the process as a turtle, nose to tail, also known as a turtle diagram. “The spine running from nose to tail is the direct process itself: raw material coming in at the nose, being machined and assembled through the body, and leaving as a finished product at the tail. ISO 9001 tracks that spine: is the product or service fit for purpose. The turtle’s legs, meanwhile, represent the indirect inputs and outputs, things that support the process without becoming part of the finished product, like the energy used to run it, and the waste and emissions that come out of it. That’s where ISO 14001 sits, not on the product itself, but on everything feeding into and out of making it.”

As Richard puts it, when he's auditing a manufacturing site for ISO 14001, he's not there to look at the finished goods waiting to be shipped out. He's looking at what went into producing them, and what came out the other end that didn't make it into the product itself.