The Environmental Management System (EMS) is a continuing cycle of planning, implementing, evaluating, and improving processes to achieve environmental goals. Sandia National Laboratories' (SNL) EMS provides an integrated approach for management and members of the workforce to identify and manage environmental risks, and is conducted in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Standard for EMS. ISO 14001 is the internationally accepted standard used to recognize and validate the effectiveness of EMS at SNL. It specifies requirements for establishing an environmental policy, determining environmental aspects and their impacts, developing environmental objectives and targets and the implementation of programs to meet these objectives and targets.

The scope of Sandia’s EMS encompasses all activities, products, and services that have the potential to interact with the environment at all of SNL’s numerous locations. All individuals working at SNL are subject to this requirement, including employees, contractors, consultants, students, and visitors. SNL has a multi-site ISO 14001 Certification for New Mexico (SNL/NM) and California (SNL/CA) locations. 

The SNL/CA EMS was initially certified to the ISO 14001 Standard in September 2006, with SNL/NM receiving certification for its EMS in June 2009. In 2015, Sandia integrated the SNL/CA site-specific EMS into the corporate program under one multi-site ISO 14001 certification.

See the Annual Site Environmental Reports, for more information on the environmental programs and goals at Sandia.