Nature of impact

While implementing an environmental management system an organization determine its environmental aspects:

Environmental aspects are the ways an organization interacts with the environment.

For example, consider from the example above the environmental aspect related with wastewater discharge.

Organization A discharges wastewater in a river, after treatment in a wastewater treatment facility, and the wastewater quality is according to legislation and permit.

Organization B discharges wastewater in a river, without treatment in a wastewater treatment facility, and the wastewater quality is not according to legislation and permit.

Same environmental aspect, different consequences for the environment. An environmental impact considers the consequences of a particular aspect for the environment.

You can find more information below:

• How does product life cycle influence environmental aspects according to ISO 14001:2015? - https://advisera.com/14001academy/blog/2016/03/21/how-does-product-life-cycle-influence-environmental-aspects-according-to-iso-140012015/
• Enroll for free in this course – ISO 14001:2015 Lead Auditor Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-14001-lead-auditor-course/
• Book – The ISO 14001:2015 Companion - https://advisera.com/books/the-iso-14001-2015-companion/