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ISO 14000
In today’s business world market pressures are forcing
internationally and domestically competing companies to better understand the
costs and benefits of their products and services. Environmental mismanagement
of a firm can cause a lack of control and loss of revenue for a company.
Standardizing the development and implementation of an Environmental Management
System (EMS) can help companies start, improve, and monitor an environmental
program. So this is where the ISO 14000 comes into effect.
The ISO 14000 is a world wide
recognized voluntary set of standards formed by the
International Standards Organization in Amsterdam to incorporating
environmental aspects into operations and product standards. The ISO 14001 was
completed in September of 1996 and is a set of specifications for implementing
an EMS. The ISO14001 standard specifies requirements for establishing an
environmental policy, determining environmental aspects and impacts of products
and services, planning environmental objectives, implementation and operation
of programs to meet objectives and targets, checking and corrective action, and
management review. The following is a very brief introduction to how the ISO
14001 works and how it can be implemented into your company.
The
first and most important step in how the ISO 14001 works is having a firm
commitment from senior management. If the senior management needs to provide
direction and focus on the EMS and if they do not follow through with a
commitment then there is a good chance any EMS implemented will fail. So one
senior management is on board the planning process begins. The planning process
includes
scheduling, budgeting, and assigning personnel,
responsibilities and resources to the EMS. The planning process is broken down
into four categories that cover 2.1)
environmental aspects, 2.2) legal and other requirements, 2.3) objectives and
targets, and 2.4) environmental management program. A plan should be developed,
written down, and made accessible to anyone who wishes to see the plan. This is
a great way to see where your organization is with its plan and where it is
going.
The next step is to implementation and
operation. Here you want to take the plan you developed in step one and execute
it among your company. The subcategories in this step are 3.1) structure and
responsibility 3.2) training, awareness and competence 3.3) communication 3.4)
environmental management system documentation 3.5) document control 3.6) and
operational control 3.7) emergency preparedness and response. So here is where
you want to lay out your plan to your employees, provide training and
consciences about the EMS, keep an open line of communication among personnel
about environmental issues, document everything, and have an emergency plan in
case something is to happen. An important issue to remember here is to document
everything. This provides the organization with reference as to how the company
is doing, where the organization is at with concerns to its plan, and where
they are going.
The third step is to check and take the proper corrective
action. Here you would wait a proper amount of time, say on quarter to one
year, and review what has happen in that time. The subcategories in this
section are 4.1) monitoring and measurement, 4.2) non-conformance and
corrective and preventive action, 4.3) records, 4.4) environmental management
system audit. On the basis of these four subcategories we would observe and
assess the EMS during the period, watch for problems that may arise and take
the proper corrective actions, record all observances and changes, and finally
audit the way things are being done to ensure that the best actions are being
taken. This step gives you a chance to look at how things are working and make
the necessary adjustments to perfect them. You should continually monitor how
the implemented EMS is going but at least once a quarter to once a year audit
your EMS to ensure that things are being done the way are suppose to be and if
changes need to be made to conform to new advances or to conform with the
original plan. I would also suggest auditing the plan once a year to see how
you are in line with the original idea and if some changes need to be made as
to the EMS goals.
So the final step in the ISO 14001 is for management to
review the process similar to step 4 and start all over again with step 3. This
is the process of continual improvement. Every organization should make every
effort to achieve environmental excellence not only for the environment but for
the bottom line of the company as well. The ISO 14000 gives an organization a
chance to maximize the use of scarce resources, implement recycling programs,
and get national and possible global recognition for environmental policies,
all of which can contribute to the bottom line. But what companies actually use
the ISO 14000 standards?
Ford motor company is a large
supporter of the ISO 14001. All of fords manufacturing facilities became ISO
14001 certified as of the end of 1998. Also, to take it a step further ford
required that at least one manufacturing site to be
ISO 14001 standardized by the end of 2001 and all manufacturing sites shipping
products to Ford by July 1, 2003 be ISO 14001 standardized. This is an aggressive step taken by
Ford to show its commitment to the environment. However, Ford
also intends to provide awareness training to its suppliers and hopes to make
tools available to assist in the process of developing an EMS. Just as a side
note, Ford has over 5000 different suppliers. So this is just a small example
of how organizations are recognizing the need to have and EMS plan. With
companies such as Ford and IBM on board you can see the importance for a
company to adopt some form of a EMS.
This
report has been a very brief introduction to the ISO 14000 standards. If you
are interested in finding more information on the subject I would suggest some
sites on the internet and some books. Www.iso.com is a great starting point to
find out about the ISO 14000 and 9000. This site also offers you a place to
roister your company as an ISO 14000 user. I would also suggest the American National Standards Institute
web page at http://www.ansi.org/. This site offers you information on
establishing a EMS and provides information on the ISO
14000 and other environmental standards. Some books of reference that are great
sources of info are Green Profits: The Manager's Handbook for ISO 14001 and
Pollution Prevention by Avrom Bendavid-Val and Nicholas P.
Cheremisinoff. This book provides information on the principles behind EMS
concepts, tools and techniques, and steps you can follow in implementing them.
Finally, for further information you can contact the American Society for Testing and
Materials by mail at ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor
Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA 19428-2959. They will
provide you with pamphlets and information on training seminars you may attend.
Work Cited
http://www.astm.org
http://www.iso.com
http://www.iso14000.com/WhatsNew/News01.htm#Ford
http://www.mgmt14k.com/ems.htm
Cheremisinoff,
Nicholas. Green
Profits. Butterworth-Heinemann. St. Louis, MO. 1996.
