ISO 14001:2015
ISO 14001 process: from self-assessment to certificate
You answer 34 yes/no questions online, pass, pay and receive a certificate that anyone can verify by number or QR code. There is no on-site audit and no waiting for an auditor's calendar. This page walks through each step and compares the route with the classic one.
01: Steps
The ISO 14001 process step by step
The process has six steps. Five of them happen on screen once. The sixth comes back every year.
Start the self-assessment
Open the assessment on zertify.ch. It is free and needs no registration, so you can read all questions before you commit to anything.
Answer 34 questions
Every question is a yes or no. They follow the requirements of ISO 14001:2015 and are worded for owners and managers, not for auditors.
Reach the pass mark
All 14 mandatory questions must be answered yes. Of the other 20 questions, at least 14 must be yes as well.
Order the certificate
Choose the certificate and pay. You do not need an account to buy.
Review and issue
SICE reviews your assessment. G6 Agency AG then issues the certificate under licence from SICE, within 4 hours after you have passed and paid.
Use it and confirm it yearly
Download the PDF with your certificate number and QR code. Once a year, a short online re-audit confirms that your system is still in place.
02: Preparation
What to have ready before you answer the questions
You can open the assessment without preparing anything. Your answers are only as good as your records, though. A pass that you cannot back up in a customer audit is of no use to you. Six topics decide most of the result.
- Environmental aspects and impacts
- List where you use energy, materials and water and where emissions and waste arise. A walk through the plant or the warehouse with the person in charge is enough to start.
- Compliance obligations
- Record the laws and permits that apply to your sites and activities, and who checks that you meet them.
- Environmental policy
- A short written policy, signed by management, with a commitment to improvement.
- Objectives and actions
- Set a few objectives, for example less waste or lower energy use. Give each one an action and an owner.
- Emergency preparedness
- Describe what happens in an environmental incident such as a spill or a fire, and who does what.
- Monitoring and reporting
- Decide which figures you track, for example consumption or waste volumes, and who reports them to management.
The standard follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and belongs in management. Planning sits in clause 6, operation in clause 8 and performance evaluation in clause 9.
03: Pass mark
What happens if you do not pass the first time?
The 14 mandatory questions are requirements of the standard. A single no among them means the business does not yet meet ISO 14001. Your answers show where the gap is. Close it, then run the assessment again. Starting is free.
The other 20 questions leave some room. Fourteen yes answers are enough, which allows for practices you are still building up. It does not allow for gaps in the core requirements.
04: After issue
What you get once the certificate is issued
The certificate arrives as a PDF with a certificate number and a QR code. A purchasing department or an auditor scans the code or enters the number on the public verification page and sees whether the certificate is valid. You can refer to that page in a supplier questionnaire, a quote or a tender.
The certificate is valid for 3 years. The price is CHF 699 (€699) in the first year, then CHF 469 (€469) per year including the yearly online re-audit. It runs as an automatic yearly subscription. You can cancel it at any time in your customer account, effective at the end of the current year, and the certificate then ends with the paid year. For customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, 8.1% VAT is included.
If you certify a second or third standard, you get 20% off for two standards and 30% off for three or more. The discount also applies to the yearly fee.
05: Comparison
Zertify process compared with the classic audit route
The classic route means an on-site audit by a certification body. Some customers and tenders ask for exactly that. Check what your buyer requires before you choose.
| Aspect | Zertify | Classic route with on-site audit |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment | Online self-assessment with 34 questions, reviewed by SICE | On-site audit by a certification body |
| Time to certificate | Within 4 hours after passing and payment | Indicatively several weeks to a few months |
| Cost | CHF 699 in the first year, then CHF 469 per year including the online re-audit | Indicatively several thousand francs over a three-year cycle, depending on size and sites |
| Yearly check | Short online re-audit | Surveillance audit by the certification body |
| Verification | Public, by certificate number and QR code | Depends on the certification body |
06: Zertify
Where Zertify fits in
Zertify suits businesses that already deal with environmental rules and need a certificate for a supplier questionnaire, a quote or a tender, without scheduling an audit. Typical users are manufacturers, logistics and transport companies, construction firms, energy utilities, and waste and recycling businesses.
The ISO 14001 page lists the requirements in more detail. The pricing page shows the discounts for several standards. When you are ready, the self-assessment tells you within one sitting where you stand.
07: FAQ
Questions about the ISO 14001 process
08: Guide
Related pages
Find out where your environmental management stands
Answer the 34 questions and see whether you meet the pass mark for ISO 14001.
Free and without registration.