ISO is a set of rules and standards created to help companies reduce industrial waste and environmental damage. ISO is part of a series of standards that address certain aspects of environmental regulations.
The purpose is to help companies manage processes while minimizing environmental effects, whereas the ISO standards from were focused on the best management practices for quality assurance.
The two can be implemented concurrently. This includes understanding the impact of the raw materials used within the product, as well as the impact of product disposal. The most notable standard is ISO , which lays out the guidelines for putting an environmental management system EMS in place.
Here are the key standards included in ISO ISO can ultimately help a company lower costs because it mandates that the firm seeking certification use its resources more efficiently and limit waste.
ISO certification can be achieved by having an accredited auditor verify that all the requirements are met, or a company may self-declare. Obtaining the ISO certification can be considered a sign of a commitment to the environment, which can be used as a marketing tool for companies. It may also help companies meet certain environmental regulations. The other benefits include being able to sell products to companies that use ISO —certified suppliers. Companies and customers may also pay more for products that are considered environmentally friendly.
CD provides guidelines, practices, and certification procedures related to environmental labeling. CD deals with life-cycle assessment of a product.
CD provides a comprehensive set of definitions of terms used in environmental management. It is important to note that the ISO issued a separate set of management standards in called the ISO series. It is a series of standards designed to lead to quality in design, development, production, inspection, testing, installation, and servicing of products.
In short, the standards are designed to promote quality management practices. Both series promote management systems that focus on prevention rather than corrective action. But the ISO series can be distinguished from the series in at least four major aspects. First, the series is designed to help an organization maintain quality as it designs, produces, and delivers a product or service to a customer.
Thus, it focuses on the customer-supplier relationship. The ISO series is of concern to various groups of interested parties or "stakeholders. Second, the ISO series involves more strategic planning; it prompts businesses to pursue continuous improvement in their environmental performance. Third, the subject of the series environmental protection is heavily regulated by government through thousands of statutes and regulations.
Noncompliance with environmental law can result in substantial fines or even imprisonment of business managers. Thus, a major goal of the ISO series is to ensure that businesses are in compliance with their own national and local applicable environmental laws and regulations. Quality of management is less directly tied to law. Fourth, the ISO series covers a broad area the environment and takes a holistic approach to that area, focusing on the business organization's activities and how they affect the land, water, and air.
The quality of management area covered by ISO is more limited. Certification to ISO is not a precondition to ISO certification, but coordination of the two sets of standards has been addressed by the U. Many organizations that are already registered to ISO , however, have decided to seek ISO registration, also.
The benefits and detriments of the ISO standards depend on the perspectives of the speaker. Therefore, this section looks at the ISO standards from the perspectives of business organizations, governments, and environmentalists. ISO certification may bring various rewards to a company, most of which can ultimately provide a financial advantage to the company.
Seven potential rewards are explored below, but this list could be expanded. First, many firms are hoping that, in return for obtaining ISO certification and the actions required to do so , regulatory agencies such as the EPA will give them more favorable treatment. For example, businesses are hoping for less stringent filing, or less monitoring, or even less severe sanctions for violations of environmental laws.
Many state regulatory agencies have suggested that the ISO certificate may be classified as a voluntary audit program that will, in turn, qualify a business for leniency in filing or monitoring requirements or even, less severe sanctions for violations of environmental regulations.
In fact, some states have already acted to provide such leniency. For example, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection PA DEP grants regulatory relief to companies that conduct voluntary environmental compliance audits. If a company, local government body, or an individual completes an environmental compliance audit and discovers a problem, discloses the problem to the PA DEP, and takes action to correct the problem, the DEP will not take civil or criminal action.
James M. In a state that has not adopted legislation or policies to provide regulatory relief to businesses that implement an EMS, a business can at least benefit from an enhanced relationship with environmental regulatory agencies and regulated businesses. A cordial and cooperative relationship between the business and regulators can be valuable in many instances.
A second benefit to businesses that choose to become certified to ISO is that substantial numbers of citizens can be influenced in their buying decisions. Obtaining ISO certification is a way for companies to demonstrate their environmental stewardship and accountability to the public. Third, ISO certification can attract investors to the business organization.
A growing number of individual investors as well as investment managers and managers of mutual funds search for environmentally responsible businesses. Fourth, the company may save money on insurance premiums. For example, some insurance companies give reduced rates on insurance to cover accidental pollution releases if the insured company has successfully implemented an EMS.
Fifth, actions taken in the process of implementing the EMS are likely to reduce the likelihood of toxic spills endangering employees and members of the community. Sixth, financial institutions are sensitive to environmental risks and their impact on collateral.
ISO may help a corporation obtain loans and protect it from allegations of investor fraud. Seventh, by implementing an EMS, a company may realize internal cost savings as a result of waste reduction, use of fewer toxic chemicals, reduced energy use, and recycling.
For example, the EMS might be international, national, or limited to individual plants operated by the company. National and international systems can be very costly. With respect to a company operating in more than one legal jurisdiction whether that means two states of the United States or two countries, such as the United States and Mexico , it will be necessary to assess the company's compliance with the laws of all national, state, and local jurisdictions involved.
Lawyers studying the ISO standards are discussing a number of legal issues related to use of environmental audit documents prepared as a part of the ISO certification process. There are serious questions as to whether a governmental regulatory agency can require disclosure of information discovered during a self-audit by a company.
The use of a third-party auditor may weaken a company's argument that information is privileged. In view of the fact that some companies conducted environmental audits for various reasons prior to the creation of ISO , this is not a new area of the law. It is still developing, however, and questions specific to ISO must be resolved. Taking one step to deal with such problems, the EPA has implemented an Interim Environmental Audit Policy that encourages business organizations to conduct environmental audits.
It provides the potential for eliminating or reducing civil penalties and avoiding criminal prosecution when specified conditions are met. The primary objective of the ISO series of standards is to promote effective environmental management systems in organizations. The standards seek to provide cost-effective tools that make use of best practices for organizing and applying information about environmental management.
The ISO family was developed in response to a recognized industry need for standardization. If you need any information regarding International Standardization or types of ISO certification then must follow our blog.
According to history, the first environmental management system, BS was published in by the BSI group. In addition to this, many organizations choose to have their EMS registered and it happens usually to provide greater assurance to clients and the public or because regulators and clients require it. Apart from this, there are several other benefits also which is categorized under Internal benefits and External benefits:.
ISO is a series that falls into basically two major groupings i.
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