In order to strengthen the environmental management system certification and standardize the environmental management system certification procedures, the China Environmental Management System Certification Steering Committee issued the Interim Management Regulations for Environmental Management System Certification in March 1998. The Regulations are divided into 4 chapters and 23 articles. The full text is hereby published as follows:

Interim Management Regulations for Environmental Management System Certification

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 These regulations are formulated in order to strengthen the certification of environmental management systems, improve the environmental management of various organizations, promote the rational use of resources, promote the clean production of organizations, reduce the generation and discharge of pollutants, and promote the sustainable development of the environment and economy.

Article 2 To carry out environmental management system certification within the territory of the People's Republic of China, these regulations must be complied with.

Article 3 The environmental management system certification work shall be uniformly organized and managed by the China Environmental Management Certification System Certification Steering Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Steering Committee). The Steering Committee is composed of the following bodies:

(1) China Environmental Management System Certification Body Accreditation Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Accreditation Committee);

(2) The Environmental Management Professional Committee of the National Registration Committee of China Certification Personnel (hereinafter referred to as the Environmental Management Certification Personnel Registration Committee);

(3) Office of the Steering Committee.

Article 4 The term “environmental management system certification” as mentioned in these regulations refers to the activities of the environmental management system certification bodies accredited by the Accreditation Committee to review and confirm the environmental management systems established by various organizations in accordance with the international standard ISO14001, and issue certification certificates.

Article 5 The term "organization" as mentioned in these Regulations refers to companies, group companies, business or associations, and other enterprises and institutions, or a part or combination of the above-mentioned units.

Article 6 The principle of voluntary application for environmental management system certification cycle.

Chapter II Application for Certification Conditions and Certification Procedures

Article 7 An organization applying for environmental management system certification shall meet the following conditions:

(1) Comply with Chinese environmental protection laws, regulations, standards and total control standards;

(2) The environmental management system has been established in accordance with the ISO14001 standard, and has been implemented and operated for at least 3 months.

Article 8 Certification procedures:

(1) Organizations that meet the conditions specified in Article 7 may submit a written application for environmental management system certification to a certification body accredited by the Agency Accreditation Board.

(2) The certification body shall make a decision on whether to accept the application within one month from the date of receipt of the certification application, and notify the organization in writing to sign the environmental management system certification contract. For organizations that do not accept applications, the certification body shall state the reasons for the refusal.

(3) The certification body shall audit the organization's environmental management system.

(4) The certification body decides whether the organization applying for certification can pass the environmental management system certification based on the review of the organization's environmental management system documents, on-site review and relevant certification documents issued by the environmental protection administrative department at or above the city (prefecture) level.

The certification documents issued by the environmental protection administrative department at or above the city (prefecture) level include:

  1. Pass the copy of the approval document of the environmental impact report (form);

  2. A copy of the certificate of passing the three simultaneous acceptances;

3. The person who certifies that the pollutant concentration and total amount control indicators have reached the standard discharge;

4. Proof that the system has not been subject to environmental administrative penalties during its operation;

(5) The certification body issues the environmental management system certification to the certified organization.

Article 9 When auditing an organization applying for certification, a certification body shall notify in writing the provincial environmental protection administrative department where the organization is located, the relevant national industry competent department, and the national industry competent department to send observers to participate in the environmental management system certification work.

Article 10 After the certification body issues the environmental management system certification certificate, it shall submit the audit report and a copy of the certification certificate to the agency accreditation committee, and the organization shall file with the municipal (prefecture) environmental protection administrative department.

Article 11 The Office of the Steering Committee shall issue a bulletin to the society for the organizations that have obtained environmental management system certification.

Article 12 The validity period of the certification certificate is 3 years.

Organizations that are willing to continue certification can submit a written application 3 months before the expiration date of the certification certificate, and issue a new certificate after review and review. Organizations that are not re-certified shall not continue to use the certification after the expiration date, and will be announced by the Office of the Steering Committee when the expiration date of the environmental management system certification certificate expires.

Chapter III Supervision and Management

Article 13 The Steering Committee shall supervise and manage the work of the Institution Accreditation Committee and the Environmental Management Certification Personnel Registration Committee.

Article 14 Institution Accreditation Commission has the right to supervise and manage certification institutions. If it is found that the certification body is practicing favoritism and the quality of certification is seriously unqualified, the Agency Accreditation Committee will give a warning and order it to make corrections; if the serious impact is caused, the Agency Accreditation Committee has the right to cancel the certification qualification of the certification body, revoke the certificate, and make an announcement.

Article 15 The Environmental Management Certification Personnel Registration Committee shall supervise and manage the national registered auditors. For the auditors who violate the law and neglect their duties, practice favoritism, cheat, violate regulations, and disclose the technical secrets of the organization, the Environmental Management Certification Personnel Registration Committee will give a warning or lower the auditor level or even cancel the registration according to the seriousness of the circumstances, and make an announcement.

Article 16 Local environmental protection administrative departments at or above the county level have the right to supervise the organizations that have been certified. For organizations that do not operate the environmental management system as promised, they may submit a review proposal to the Office of the Steering Committee, and the Office of the Steering Committee will make a decision on whether to conduct a review based on the actual investigation.

Article 17 The certification body shall conduct an annual supervision and audit on the holder of the certification certificate within the validity period of the certification certificate. For organizations that fail to operate the environmental management system as promised, they shall issue a rectification notice within a time limit, and those who fail to meet the rectification goal within the time limit shall suspend or revoke the use of the certification certificate as appropriate.

Article 18 The certification body shall not employ persons without the qualifications of nationally registered auditors to conduct the audit of the environmental management system.

Certification bodies and their certification personnel shall not engage in consulting business related to environmental management system certification.

Article 19 Organizations that have objections to the certification bodies, certification personnel and audit work involved in the environmental management system certification work may file a written complaint or appeal to the corresponding management agency.

The content of the complaint or appeal includes the reasons, opinions, requirements and necessary evidence for the appeal.

Article 20 After receiving a complaint or appeal, the management agency referred to in the preceding article shall investigate the content of the complaint and appeal, and put forward a handling opinion within 3 months from the date of receipt of the complaint or appeal.

Those who are dissatisfied with the handling may file an appeal to the Steering Committee Office.

Chapter IV Supplementary Provisions

Article 21 Organizations applying for environmental management system certification shall pay certification fees as required. The charging standards and charging management methods for environmental management system certification shall be formulated by the relevant state departments.

Article 22 These regulations shall be interpreted by the Office of the China Environmental Management System Certification Steering Committee.

Article 23 These regulations shall come into force as of the date of promulgation.