ISO 14000
From Lauraibm
Contents |
MI Summary
ISO 14000 consists of a series of international standards on environmental management, the ISO 14001 is the corner stone of the series and is the only standard against which it is currently possible to be certified by an external certification authority.
Text of Article
What is ISO 14000?
ISO 14000 is a series of international standards on environmental management. It provides a framework for the development of an environmental management system and the supporting audit programme.
The main thrust for its development came as a result of the Rio Summit on the Environment held in 1992.
The History of ISO 14000
As a number of national standards emerged (BS 7750 being the first), the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) created a group to investigate how such standards might benefit business and industry. As a result this group recommended that an ISO committee be created to create an international standard.
What is ISO 14001?
ISO 14001 is the corner stone standard of the ISO 14000 series. It specifies a framework of control for an Environmental Management System against which an organization can be certified by a third party.
Other ISO14000 Series Standards
Other standards in the series are actually guidelines, many to help you achieve registration to ISO 14001. These include the following:
- ISO 14004 provides guidance on the development and implementation of environmental management systems
- ISO 14010 provides general principles of environmental auditing (now superseded by ISO 19011)
- ISO 14011 provides specific guidance on audit an environmental management system (now superseded by ISO 19011)
- ISO 14012 provides guidance on qualification criteria for environmental auditors and lead auditors (now superseded by ISO 19011)
- ISO 14013/5 provides audit program review and assessment material.
- ISO 14020+ labeling issues
- ISO 14030+ provides guidance on performance targets and monitoring within an Environmental Management System
- ISO 14040+ covers life cycle issues
Of all these, ISO14001 is not only the most well known, but is the only ISO 14000 standard against which it is currently possible to be certified by an external certification authority.
ISO 14000 in the Press
- ISO 14000: Five Environmental Management System Principles (30-Sep-07)
- ISO 9001, What Next? (15-Aug-07)
Summaries
Full article: ISO 9001, What Next? (15-Aug-07)
The Geneva-based International Standards Organization has developed ISO-14000, a set of voluntary international environmental quality standards designed to promote sound corporate management of environmental compliance matters. ISO-14000 is the second major undertaking of the International Standards Organization in developing international quality management systems for business enterprises. In the mid-1980s the Organization adopted its ISO-9000 series of standards for corporate quality management. The idea behind extending the ISO quality management principles into the environmental arena arose out of the historic United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
The overriding goal of ISO-14000 is to develop a comprehensive system of universally accepted corporate standards to ensure that companies will be in a position to successfully manage their environmental compliance matters. ISO-14000 calls for the development of corporate Environmental Management Systems (EMSs).
ISO-14000 spells out in detail the guiding principles for the development of effective EMS programs:
- First and foremost, ISO-14000 acknowledges that environmental management must be among the highest corporate priorities. ISO-14000 also acknowledges that a company and its highest levels of management must demonstrate their commitment to the EMS process.
- Additionally, for effective implementation of EMS programs, ISO-14000 recognizes the importance of adequate resources, including proper employee training, to the success of any EMS.
- Finally, ISO-14000 recognizes that standardized and comprehensive procedures must be in place in order to correctly assess the effectiveness of these EMS programs and ensure the accountability of responsible corporate managers for the success or failure of these endeavours.
ISO-14000 also details the critical elements of an effective EMS. It requires companies to perform an "Initial Environmental Review" of their operations. In the USA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted a "wait and see" attitude on ISO-14000.
