On 14 September 2026, Global Accreditation Cooperation (Global ACI) published the transition requirements for ISO 14001:2026, the revised environmental management system standard that ISO published in April 2026. The document, Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-04-30 (M), sets a common timetable for accreditation bodies, certification bodies and certified organisations worldwide.
What changed in ISO 14001:2026?
According to Global ACI's summary, the 2026 edition builds on the established framework of ISO 14001:2015 rather than fundamentally changing its approach. It provides:
- Clearer guidance and more intuitive navigation
- Stronger alignment with key environmental priorities, including climate change, biodiversity and resource efficiency
- Greater emphasis on leadership and governance
- More focus on integrating environmental management across operations and value chains
Key transition dates
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| April 2026 | ISO 14001:2026 published |
| 14 September 2026 | Global ACI transition requirements published |
| By 31 October 2026 | Accreditation bodies ready to assess against ISO 14001:2026 |
| By 31 January 2027 | Accredited certification bodies submit transition declarations |
| By 30 April 2027 | Accreditation bodies complete transition decisions |
| From 31 October 2027 | New and initial accredited certifications only to ISO 14001:2026 |
| 30 April 2029 | End of transition — ISO 14001:2015 certificates must have transitioned |
As with ISO 9001, the transition can be completed at a scheduled surveillance or recertification audit, or through a separate transition audit. The requirements are mandatory for Global ACI Multilateral Recognition Arrangement signatories and the certification bodies they accredit.
What should organisations do?
- Certified to ISO 14001:2015? Review the new edition against your EMS — particularly climate change, biodiversity and resource use in your aspects and impacts, leadership and governance, and value chain considerations. Agree the timing of your transition audit with your certification body.
- Planning new certification? Build your EMS to ISO 14001:2026. From 31 October 2027, initial certifications to the 2015 edition will no longer be possible.
- Running an integrated system? Note that ISO 9001:2026 has its own transition, ending 30 September 2029 — see our ISO 9001:2026 summary. Aligning both transitions with the same audit can save time.
For an overview of environmental management systems, read ISO 14001: Understanding Environmental Management Systems.
This article summarises official announcements. It is not an official ISO or Global ACI publication — please refer to the linked sources for the authoritative text.
Sources & further reading
- Global ACI publishes transition requirements for ISO 14001:2026 (Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-04-30 (M)) — Global Accreditation Cooperation (14 September 2026)
- ISO 14001:2026 published — raising the bar for environmental performance — ISO (April 2026)
- ISO 14001:2026 — Environmental management systems — ISO
Links open the original publisher's page. Summaries on this page are written by Certsure; for the authoritative text of any standard, refer to the official publication.
