It is becoming more and more important for companies to demonstrate their active efforts in reducing their environmental impact.
As companies operate on a much larger scale than individual consumers do, they have a corporate environmental responsibility to take action on climate change.
By continuously identifying areas where waste can be reduced, your organisation will become more efficient and your environmental impact lessened. The standard places a large focus on reducing an organisation’s environmental waste. Because of the nature of the standard, it has become more prevalent among businesses, largely due to growing climate concerns, and increasing pressure from social groups.
There are a number of reasons why ISO 14001 is important. Through a more efficient use of resources and a reduction of waste, the standard helps organisations improve their environmental performance. The standard aims to help you reduce your impact on the environment by guiding you to consider all aspects of your business, such as: storage, distribution and manufacturing. The ISO 14001 framework is designed to measure and improve the way organisations use and dispose of natural resources. From a big factory hoping to reduce their waste to a small office that’s looking to cut down on gas and electricity use, the standard is suitable for all. This is a generic standard, meaning it can be implemented in organisations of any size and in any industry. Within this is the ISO 14001 standard, which covers the implementation of an Environmental Management System. In addition, the new ISO 19011:2002 standard for auditing is reflected in the book, as are approaches to phased introduction of ISO 14001.Many organisations working towards ISO 14001 already possess ISO 9000 registration, or choose to achieve ISO 14001 and ISO 9000 simultaneously as an integrated system.To prevent duplication, ISO 14001 Environmental Certification Step by Step includes cross-referencing of ISO 14001 requirements to the relevant procedures in the Quality System.The ISO 14000 family of standards provide a guideline for organisations looking to manage their environmental impact.
This revised edition has been updated to cover the latest developments in the interpretation of the standard, plus changes in related legislation, such as the EU's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), Control of Pollution regulations, Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations, Landfill charges, Pollution Prevention and Control, and Asbestos Regulations. Together, these provide a quick and straightforward guide to achieving the requirements of ISO 14001 Environmental Certification.
Edwards explains how to achieve the ISO 14001 standard aided by resources freely available from the accompanying website, including a sample manual and detailed sample registers and procedures. ISO 14001 Environmental Certification Step by Step has been written with smaller companies especially in mind. The do-it-yourself manual, with steps to success and simple explanatory notes, designed for real companies.