The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes

etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements, and (c) continually improve in the above. ISO 14000 is similar to ISO 9000 quality management in that both pertain to the process of how a product is produced, rather than to the product itself. As with ISO 9000, certification is performed by third-party organizations rather than being awarded by ISO directly. The ISO 19011 audit standard applies when auditing for both 9000 and 14000 compliance at once.

A brief history of environmental management systems

The concept of an environmental management system evolved in the early nineties and its origin can be traced back to 1972, when the United Nations organised a Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was launched (Corbett & Kirsch, 2001). These early initiatives led to the establishment of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) and the adoption of the Montreal Protocol and Basel Convention. In 1992, the first Earth Summit was held in Rio-de-Janeiro (Jiang & Bansal, 2001), which served to generate a global commitment to the environment (RMIT University). In the same year, BSI Group published the world's first environmental management systems standard, BS 7750.[1] This supplied the template for the development of the ISO 14000 series in 1996, by the International Organization for Standardization, which has representation from committees all over the world (ISO) (Clements 1996, Brorson & Larsson, 1999). As of 2010, ISO 14001 is now used by at least 223 149 organiDevelopment

of the ISO 14000 series

The ISO 14000 family includes most notably the ISO 14001 standard, which represents the core set of standards used by organizations for designing and implementing an effective environmental management system. Other standards included in this series are ISO 14004, which gives additional guidelines for a good environmental management system, and more specialized standards dealing with specific aspects of environmental management. The major objective of the ISO 14000 series of norms is "to promote more effective and efficient environmental management in organizations and to provide useful and usable tools - ones that are cost effective, system-based, flexible and reflect the best organizations and the best organizational practices available for gathering, interpreting and communicating environmentally relevant information".[3] Unlike previous environmental regulations, which began with command and control approaches, later replaced with ones based on market mechanisms, ISO 14000 was based on a voluntary approach to environmental regulation (Szymanski & Tiwari 2004). The series includes the ISO 14001 standard, which provides guidelines for the establishment or improvement of an EMS. The standard shares many common traits with its predecessor ISO 9000, the international standard of quality management (Jackson 1997), which served as a model for its internal

structure (National Academy Press 1999) and both can be implemented side by side. As with ISO 9000, ISO 14000 acts both as an internal management tool and as a way of demonstrating a companys environmental commitment to its customers and clients (Boiral 2007). Prior to the development of the ISO 14000 series, organizations voluntarily constructed their own EMS systems, but this made comparisons of environmental effects between companies difficult and therefore the universal ISO 14000 series was developed. An EMS is defined by ISO as: part of the overall management system, that includes organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving and maintaining the environmental policy (ISO 1996 cited in Federal Facilities Council Report 1999).
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ISO 14000 essentials

This section concisely describes the essential features of the ISO 14000 family.

The ISO 14000 family addresses various aspects of environmental management. The very first two standards, ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 14004:2004 deal with environmental management systems (EMS). ISO 14001:2004 provides the requirements for an EMS and ISO 14004:2004 gives general EMS guidelines. The other standards and guidelines in the family address specific environmental aspects, including: labeling, performance evaluation, life cycle analysis, communication and auditing.

About ISO
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 162 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system. ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations. Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.

ISO 14000: Environmental Management Systems

Print Search again How initiatives are assessed Basic information Contact details Areas addressed Participation Compliance Assessment

Basic information

Type: Certification scheme Year established: 2004 Status: Active Thematic area: Environmental and social impact, Other Summary: ISO 14000 is a series of international standards on environmental management. It provides a framework for the development of both the system and the supporting audit program. While ISO 14001:2004 specifies the requirements for such an environmental management system; ISO 14004:2004 provides guidelines on the elements of an environmental management system and its implementation. It enables an organisation to identify and control the environmental impact of its activities, products or services, and to improve its environmental performance continually, to implement a systematic approach to setting environmental objectives and targets, and to achieving these and to demonstrating that they have been achieved. The ISO14000 series does not specify levels of environmental performance.

Environmental and social impact

There are a number of international self-regulatory initiatives that either set standards for NGOs on managing and reporting on their environmental performance/impact or set standards on conservation practice. The ISO 14000 for example, certifies NGOs (as well as companies and public bodies) on their environmental management systems. The Standards for the Practice of Conservation on the other hand, sets standards for conservation NGOs in designing, managing, and monitoring conservation work. G3, Version 3 of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, from the Global Reporting Initiative is currently in development and will address environmental and social impact assessment among other areas. If you are aware of any other initiatives, including those in development, please contact us so that we may update our database.

ISO and the environment

The ISO 14000 family is the most visible part of ISO's work for the environment. This section gives the whole picture.

ISO has a multi-faceted approach to meeting the needs of business, industry, governments and consumers in the field of the environment. Firstly, ISO it offers a wide-ranging portfolio of standardized sampling, testing and analytical methods to deal with specific environmental challenges. It has developed more than 350 International Standards for the monitoring of such aspects as the quality of air, water and soil. These standards are a means of providing business and government with scientifically valid data on the environmental effects of economic activity. They may also be used as the technical basis for environmental regulations. Secondly, ISO offers a strategic approach through the ISO 14000 family of environmental management standards developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 207 that can be implemented in any type of organization in either public or private sector (companies, administrations, public utilities). Thirdly, ISO/TC TC 207 also works on documents to facilitate the fusion of business and environmental goals by encouraging the inclusion of environmental aspects in product design. ISO/TR 14062, Environmental management - Integrating environmental aspects into product design and development, enables organizations to identify the likely effects on the environment of their future products and make effective decisions during the design and development stages to improve their environmental performance. Fourthly, ISO/TC 207 is helping to meet the new challenge of climate change with standards such as ISO 14064:2006 and ISO 14065:2007 standards for greenhouse gas verification and accounting.

ISO 14000 family

The ISO 14000 family addresses "Environmental management". This means what the organization does to:

Minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to Achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.