What is ISO 14000?

… Stephan Barg, International Institute for Sustainable Development, 1996

ISO 14000 is a set of documents being developed by national standards setting organizations, by
the International Organization for Standardization (the ISO), and by potential users These
documents define the key activities that an organization needs to undertake in order to know that
its environmental management system is meeting its needs. ISO 14000 is designed to be used by
business and other organizations in a world where environmental performance is seen by many as
a key component of overall corporate performance, where legislative requirements frequently
change, and where employees and customers are often interested in an organization’s
environmental performance. While designed by and for businesses, it is applicable to any
organization that wishes to implement an environmental management system, including colleges
and universities. By providing a common basis for defining an appropriate environmental
management system for many kinds of organizations, ISO 14000 also allows one organization to
relay on another organization’s claims about its environmental performance. Thus a customer
organization need not inspect a supplier’s facilities, but can rely on ISO 14000 and its audit
provisions to ensure that environmental performance claims are accurate.

The ISO is the International Organization for Standardization, based in Geneva. It is the
coordinating body for the standards bodies that exist in most countries. ISO exists to help make
trade and commerce more efficient through agreement on common standards among many
countries. The vast majority of such standards are products standards, which define some
characteristics of a product or its manufacture or testing. Most people are familiar with electrical
safety standards, which ensure that electrical appliances are safe to use, and are signified by a
label on the product. Most products have such standards that countries apply to ensure safety, or
utility in performing its function. Obviously it is more efficient if countries agree on these
standards - manufacturers can then make one product for sale on many countries, and produce
them efficiently and cheaply. The ISO process - discussed in more detail later in this paper, is
designed to promote such agreements and thus to promote efficiency and international trade.

In many cases, the standards developed at the national level and through the ISO process, have
the effective force of law, because countries may require that the standards be met before a
product can be sold.

All of this is in contrast to the ISO 14000 series of standards, which are not about products but
about management systems. The difference is fundamental, and can be the source of much
confusion if not clearly understood. Rather than dealing with how a product will perform in
various situations, a management system standard establishes what the organization needs to do in
order to manage itself so as to meet its goals. It is a fundamental component of ISO 14000 that
organizations set their own goals regarding environmental impacts, based on whatever
considerations need to be brought to bear. That is, a company or campus can set its own targets
for waste management, and the management system that ISO 14000 provides will assist in
developing plans to meet those targets and produce information about whether or not the targets
are met. ISO 14000’s only requirements are that the organization set goals, that these are
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sufficient to ensure compliance with the law, and that they be made available to the public.
Beyond that, it is up to each organization to set its own targets.

Why is business interested?

The development of ISO 14000 standards has been driven primarily by large businesses and
multi-national corporations. They see a variety of benefits.

· Basis of an environmental management system. Companies that do not have a formal

environmental system (EMS) realize that there is a need to make their environmental efforts
more systematic. ISO 14000 gives them what they need to get started. The value of the
systematic approach, as far as internal management is to put environmental issues into the
normal management system: goals are set, compliance is checked, and results are measured
and reviewed. The system is voluntary and flexible, so it can be tailored to company needs
and it will unify the various demands for eco-lebelling, and life cycle assessment into one
management system. It should improve the attitudes among employees to environmental
improvements.

 External benefits. A well implemented EMS, along ISO 14000 lines, will produce a variety
of results external to the company. The courts, investors and lenders, and regulators may all
use it as a sign of due diligence and commitment to good environmental management.
Similarly, it could produce better community relations. It is not only the presence of the
EMS, but the information it produces and the attention it demands that will help the company
with its stakeholders.

 Market benefits. ISO 14000 will be seen by an increasing number of customers as an

essential pre requisite of doing business, because they will demand that their suppliers meet
specific environmental goals and have ISO 14000 certification to ensure that the goals are
being met.

 Better environmental performance. This will usually lead to more efficient production, as
energy and raw materials are consumed. Since the ISO 14000 encourages continuous
improvement, the efficiencies should increase over time.

 International acceptability. While many of the benefits of ISO 14000 to a company can be
attained with the use of any good EMS approach, the fact that ISO 14000 has international
acceptability is also valuable. It will provide common terminology and management
approaches to problems. For multi-divisional companies or those who work closely with
suppliers and customers, this can be very useful. It will allow the company’s efforts in one
locale to be compared to others both there and elsewhere, which customers will find valuable.
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Why environmentalists should be interested

In order to discuss why environmental performance of companies can be improved by ISO 14000,
it is first necessary to discuss what it does not do.

 ISO 14000 does not set environmental performance standards. It leaves these up to the
organization, saying only that its policies must include obeying local laws and regulations.

 In this context, environmental performance includes reporting on impacts on people and the
environment. Companies set their own policies.

 ISO 14000 does not require external verification of its claims.

As a voluntary tool for environmental management, ISO 14000 leaves virtually all of the
organizations’ actual performance goals up to the organization. How then can those interested in
improving environmental performance make use of the system? In the first place, by continuing
to support good environmental regulation at all levels.

No voluntary system will replace a mandatory system that has appropriate enforcement
procedures built in. Beyond that, however, ISO 14000 provides a useful tool with which to hold
companies to account. When a company does establish a positive environmental policy, the ISO
14000 system can be used to check that it is actually accomplishing its goals, and reporting
appropriately on them. Furthermore, companies can be encouraged to insist that all of their
suppliers meet the environmental policy goals established by the customer company.

Finally, just the existence of an EMS in a company will usually lead to environmental
improvements. It is in the nature of organizations that when a issue is brought into their
management structure, they try to deal with it systematically and positively. While it will not
always be the case that this will lead to improvement, it often will. If encouraged by substantive
inputs from customers, environmental groups and other stakeholders, the chances of improvement
become greater.

Relevance to Sustainable Development

Sustainable development involves the simultaneous improvement of the economy, the

environment, and the well-being of people. In the corporate context, IISD has developed the
following definition:

For the business enterprise, sustainable development means adopting business

strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its
stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and
natural resources that will be needed in the future.
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This definition captures the spirit of the concept proposed in the report of the World Commission
on Environment and Development and focuses attention on areas of specific interest and concern
to business enterprises. It recognizes that economic development must meet the needs of the
business enterprise and its stakeholders. The latter include shareholders, lenders, customers,
employees, suppliers and communities who are affected (either positively or negatively) by the
enterprise’s business activities. The definition also highlights the dependence of the enterprise’s
economic activities on human and natural resources, in addition to physical and financial capital.
It emphasizes that economic activity must not irreparably degrade or destroy these natural and
human resources.

It is important to emphasize, however, that sustainable development cannot be achieved by a

single enterprise (or, for that matter, by the entire business community) in isolation of the rest of
society. Sustainable development is a pervasive philosophy to which most participants in the
global economy (including consumers and governments) must subscribe if we hope to meet
today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.

ISO 14000 will contribute to sustainable development to the extent that it helps organizations
meet this definition. It should be noted that the ISO 14000 deals with environmental management
despite its preamble statement that it is based on the goals of sustainable development.
“Environment” is defined as:

Surroundings in which an organization operates, including air, water, land,

natural resources, flora, fauna, humans, and their interrelation. Surroundings
in this context extend from within an organization to the global system.

However, the human aspect is barely mentioned elsewhere in the documents. The route to
sustainable development, then, is through the company’s goals with regard to its stakeholders,
who are called “interested parties”. Once again, it is the combination of voluntary responses by
organizations, often driven by consumer and campaigner forces, that will be important.

Barg, S. What is ISO 14000? Winnipeg: International Institute for Sustainable Development,
1996