EM:ISO 14001:2004 – Environmental Management

The ISO 14000 family of standards provides practical tools for companies and organizations of all kinds looking to manage their environmental responsibilities.
ISO 14001:2004 and its supporting standards such as ISO 14006:2011 focus on environmental systems to achieve this. The other standards in the family focus on specific approaches such as audits, communications, labelling and life cycle analysis, as well as environmental challenges such as climate change.
ISO 14001:2004
ISO 14001:2004 sets out the criteria for an environmental management system and can be certified to. It maps out a framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an effective environmental management system. It can be used by any organization regardless of its activity or sector.
Using ISO 14001:2004 can provide assurance to company management and employees as well as external stakeholders that environmental impact is being measured and improved.
It has proven benefits. A survey of over 5000 users showed:
• 75% of users found it valuable for meeting legal requirements and improving the organization’s environmental performance
• Over 60% rated it highly for achieving management commitment and employee engagement
• Over half rated it as valuable for business management, most notably for meeting stakeholder requirements and improving public image
• Over 75% indicated that use of the standard gave them a competitive advantage and 63% gained a financial benefit