WHAT IS ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 is a global standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS). The standard provides the framework for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to environmental responsibility. The goal of the ISO 14001 standard is to give the top management of any organisation a framework for managing environmental impacts.

Because of its generic nature and universal acceptance, ISO 14001 has the potential to affect the environmental management practices of virtually every manufacturing company in the world - its impact even extends beyond the industrial realm. Any company whose products, services or day-to-day activities have an impact on the environment needs to be aware of ISO 14001.

Like ISO 900, ISO 14001 is a product of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). ISO 14001 is the world's first generic, internationally recognised standard for environmental management. Of the group of ISO 14000 standards, ISO 14001 is the actual standard to which companies get registered. Experts are predicting that the impacts of this dynamic standard will transcend the vast popularity of the world-renowned ISO 900 quality standard. ISO 14001 measures the conformance of an organisation's EMS to the specified requirements.

The benefits of showing conformance to the ISO 14001 standard are numerous. For example, assuring compliance to the vast array of Federal and State environmental regulations requires significant effort and steady attention. Having a well-defined EMS framework for these efforts, as defined in ISO 14001, will certainly help ease the burden for providing a systematic approach to compliance. Also, regulatory bodies seem to offer companies a certain "flexibility" contingent upon proven performance and public accountability records.

Compliance to ISO 14001 can provide the mechanism for an organisation to more definitively establish itself as a genuine performer. In addition, Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) have indicated that certification may lead to a reduction in the number of inspections required for obtaining permits. In unique circumstances, the EPA has reduced fines on the condition that financial resources are put into better practices, including compliance to ISO 14001.

Through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), ISO 14001 is expected to become a prerequisite for doing business worldwide. Experts say that it is the market forces, which will drive acceptance of the new global environmental standards.

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