Environmental Management: the ISO 14000 Family of International Standards
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Environmental management The ISO 14000 family of International Standards ISO in brief ISO and the environment ISO is the International Organization ISO has a multi-faceted approach to meet- for Standardization. It has a membership ing the needs of all stakeholders from busi- of 160 national standards institutes from ness, industry, governmental authorities and countries large and small, industrialized, nongovernmental organizations, as well as developing and in transition, in all regions of consumers, in the field of the environment. the world. ISO’s portfolio of more than 18 000 standards provides practical tools for all three 1. ISO has developed standards that dimensions of sustainable development : help organizations to take a proactive economic, environmental and societal. approach to managing environmental ISO standards for business, government issues: the ISO 14000 family of and society as a whole make a positive environmental management standards contribution to the world we live in. which can be implemented in any They ensure vital features such as quality, type of organization in either public or ecology, safety, economy, reliability, private sectors – from companies to compatibility, interoperability, conformity, administrations to public utilities. efficiency and effectiveness. They 2. ISO is helping to meet the challenge facilitate trade, spread knowledge, and of climate change with standards for share technological advances and good greenhouse gas accounting, verification management practice. and emissions trading, and for measuring ISO develops only those standards that the carbon footprint of products. are required by the market. This work is 3. carried out by experts on loan from the ISO develops normative documents industrial, technical and business sectors to facilitate the fusion of business and which have asked for the standards, and environmental goals by encouraging the which subsequently put them to use. These inclusion of environmental aspects in experts may be joined by others with relevant product design. knowledge, such as representatives of 4. ISO offers a wide-ranging portfolio of government agencies, testing laboratories, standards for sampling and test methods consumer associations and academia, and to deal with specific environmental by nongovernmental or other stakeholder challenges. It has developed some 570 organizations that have a specific interest in International Standards for the monitoring the issues addressed in the standards. of such aspects as the quality of air, water Published under the designation of and the soil, as well as noise, radiation, International Standards, ISO standards and for controlling the transport of represent an international consensus on the dangerous goods. They also serve in a state of the art in the technology or good number of countries as the technical basis practice concerned. for environmental regulations. Environmental management and sustainability Organizations around the world, as well as ISO International Standards and related their stakeholders, are becoming increasingly normative documents provide consumers, aware of the need for environmental regulators and organizations in both public management, socially responsible behaviour, and private sectors with environmental tools and sustainable growth and development. with the following characteristics : Accordingly, as the proactive management 9 Technically credible as ISO standards of environmental aspects converges with represent the sum of knowledge of a enterprise risk management, corporate broad pool of international expertise and governance, and sound operational and stakeholders financial practices and performance, International Standards are becoming 9 Fulfil stakeholder needs as the ISO increasingly important for organizations to standards development process is based work towards common and comparable on international input and consensus environmental management practices 9 Facilitate the development of to support the sustainability of their uniform requirements as the ISO organizations, products, and services. standards development process is built Furthermore, governments and regulatory on participation by its national member bodies are increasingly looking to ISO institutes from all regions of the world standards to provide a framework to ensure 9 Promote efficiencies when the same alignment and consistency both nationally standards are implemented across and internationally. markets, sectors, and/or jurisdictions 9 Support regulatory compliance when the standards are used to meet market and regulatory needs 9 Enhance investor confidence because the standards can be used for conformity assessment such as by audit, inspection or certification. This enhances confidence in products, services and systems that can be demonstrated to conform to ISO standards and provides practical support for regulation. Environmental Management 2009 – 3 ISO/TC 207, Environmental management Origins Compatibility ISO technical committee ISO/TC 207, From its beginning, it was recognized that Environmental management, is ISO/TC 207 should cooperate closely with responsible for developing and maintaining ISO/TC 176, Quality management and the ISO 14000 family of standards. quality assurance – the ISO technical The committee’s current portfolio consists committee responsible for the ISO 9000 of 21 published International Standards and family of quality management standards – in other types of normative document, with the areas of management systems, auditing another nine new or revised documents in and related terminology. preparation. Successful steps have been taken to ISO/TC 207 was established in 1993, as ensure compatibility of the ISO 14001 and a result of ISO’s commitment to respond ISO 9001 standards to facilitate their use by to the complex challenge of “sustainable organizations that wish to implement both development” articulated at the 1992 United environmental and quality management Nations Conference on Environment and systems to benefit themselves and their Development in Rio de Janeiro. customers and stakeholders. These steps include a common standard (ISO 19011) giving It also stemmed from an intensive guidelines for auditing environmental and/or consultation process, carried out within the quality management systems. framework of the ISO Strategic Advisory Group on Environment (SAGE). SAGE was established in 1991 and brought together Global participation representatives of a variety of countries and international organizations – a total of more Membership of ISO/TC 207 is among the than 100 environmental experts – who helped highest of any ISO technical committee and is to define how International Standards could both broad and diverse in representation, two support better environmental management. key indicators of the worldwide interest in the work of this technical committee. National dele- As a result, the ISO 14000 family of gations of environmental experts from over 100 standards for environmental management countries participate in ISO/TC 207, including was launched to provide a practical toolbox 27 developing countries. The leadership of the to assist in the implementation of actions committee is “ twinned ” between a developed supportive to sustainable development. and developing country (currently Canada and Brazil). 4 – Environmental Management 2009 The national delegations are chosen by Scope of ISO/TC 207’s work the national standards institute concerned and they are required to bring to ISO/TC 207 Published documents and ongoing work of a national consensus on issues being ISO/TC 207 address the following areas : addressed by the technical committee. This 9 Environmental management systems national consensus is derived from a process of consultation with interested parties and 9 Environmental auditing and related stakeholders in each country. environmental investigations 9 Environmental performance evaluation ISO/TC 207 continues to explore new and innovative ways to allow member countries 9 Environmental labelling to contribute and participate in the standards 9 Life cycle assessment development process without increasing their 9 Environmental communication carbon footprint. 9 Environmental aspects of product design ISO/TC 207 has relationships with over and development 30 international organizations that serve as 9 Environmental aspects in product liaison members to the technical committee. standards These organizations include the following : 9 Terms and definitions 9 Asian Productivity Organization 9 Greenhouse gas management and related 9 Confederation of European Paper activities Industries 9 Measuring the carbon footprint of products. 9 European Commission The ISO 14000 family of standards reflects international consensus on good 9 Environmental Defense Fund environmental and business practice that can 9 Global Ecolabelling Network be applied by organizations all over the world in their specific context. 9 International Aluminium Institute 9 International Chamber of Commerce 9 International Institute for Sustainable Development 9 International Iron and Steel Institute 9 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 9 Sierra Club 9 United Nations Environment Programme 9 World Business Council for Sustainable Development 9 World Health Organization 9 World Resources Institute 9 World Trade Organization. Environmental Management 2009 – 5 Overview of the ISO 14000 family of standards Published standards Truthful and accurate information provides the basis on which