Saturday, December 24, 2011

ISO 9001 Standard - ISO 9001:2008 Standards

Monday, June 28, 2010

How to Get an ISO 14001 Accreditation

If you are someone who is looking into getting an ISO 14001, then you may be wondering exactly why it is that you have to get this accreditation. First, you have to understand that ISO stands for the International Organisation of Standardisation. This is a series of standards that have been developed with a singular level of guidance for all companies to measure up to. The particular 14001 deals with the requirements that you will need to have in order to measure up to the environmental standards that have been set forth by the ISO.

While you do not necessarily have to get the ISO 14001 accreditation to operate your business, it is something you can do to prove to your clients and customers that you are doing your part to help out with the environment. However, you may be confused on how to go about getting this important accreditation, but it is not as difficult to attain as you might think, and most businesses should be able to get the certification within a year of the application. You should know that they will want to make sure that you have been following some form of environmental standards for at least three months prior to your application. To do this you can write an environmental review of your company’s environmental impact as it is in its current operating state. You will then want to make sure that you provide this information when you send off your initial paperwork to begin the overall process.

In order to help prove that your company is doing its part to be environmentally aware you will have to go through an initial audit once the application has been filled out and filed. After the audit has been completed you will get a list of issues that the auditor feels you need to resolve before you can be certified for the ISO 14001. You will need to work on and correct these issues before the second audit is conducted, and they will give you a time period (usually three to six months) when they will return to check on your progress.

When the second audit occurs they will once again assess the overall business and then they will address the issues that were laid out in the previous audit. If everything goes well then your company will have proven that they are doing what they can to meet the standard set forth in ISO 14001, and they will then receive accreditation. However, this is not the end of the process. Even though you are now recognised as having environmentally conscious policies that are congruent with the international standards, you will have to go through periodic audits every three years to make sure that you are still operating correctly. Not only this, but every three months partial aspects of your company will be analysed to see that they are still working within the standards as well. As long as you remain within the compliance terms you will continue to receive your ISO 14001 certification.

Is Green Business Really Environmentally Sustainable ?

Is Green Business Really Environmentally Sustainable ?

Green Business is about a good management of a range of issues including reduced carbon footprint and good energy management but also including a broader environmental sustainability, within a practical environmental management system. The most effective system is ISO 14001. Many other approaches are less than effective

There is a wide variety of concepts that are understood by some as environmental management systems or EMS and this varies in different industries. The concept has evolved over time. Essentially the name says it all – A system to enable the business owner or manager to manage environmental problems both real and potential.

Owners and managers setting out to have a green business do not always achieve their aim of environmental sustainability and may not even include reduced carbon footprint and good energy management.

Many industry groups have developed industry wide simplistic programs that they call EMS that actually miss the S for system and some really only have a checklist approach that is based on an “average” or “typical” business in that industry. So effectively they also miss much of the environment. Many do not really involve any management either. Some are very superficial in the way that they select the environmental aspects they manage because they have been drawn up to be generic and cut out the need for the business owner to stop and think. In this case it is difficult to understand how any process of continual improvement can result.

One of these programs are as simple as a checklist, or what many involved call a “tick and flick” exercise. These are barely even educational for the business owner and have no ongoing benefits like reduction of costs or legal protection.

Even where the business owners and or managers spend a lot of time filling in forms and communicating with neighbours, there is often a real lack of understanding of how to identify and varied environmental risks in an individual businesses and why these need to be manage. They can easily miss things and even find they are risking legal implications in areas that are not typical and so not covered by the so called system..

An effective management system needs individual businesses to identify and understand what their environmental risks are or may be. These risks need to be managed and there also needs to be a feedback system going into a regularly reviewed system for continual improvement. This can be enhanced with auditing by qualified independent auditors, whether internal or external; although the greatest benefit does come from employing and independent external auditing body such as a certification body.

There were some early ISO 14001 systems that gave the system a bad name because they were based on outdated engineering and military approaches to ISO systems are overly paper heavy and full of jargon. These were not suitable for small business and farms. These systems have given ISO 140001 a bad name in some circles.

Unfortunately many consultants have come from an old style quality management background without any real understanding of or training in the environment. The training to upgrade from quality auditing only involves doing a three day seminar with a minimal assessment by a training organization. Then they audit with a rigid paper based approach and do a serious disservice to both their clients and to the auditing industry.

Small to medium businesses benefit from a simpler approach based on a real understanding of the issues involved and a genuine understanding of risks. Such systems are based on ISO 14001 and have a real emphasis on keeping things simple and minimizing paperwork. These give very real benefits to the businesses involved.

About ISO 14001:2004 Standards

The ISO 14001 aims to reduce the environmental carbon footprints that many businesses leave behind today because of not taking the right steps to be environmental sustainable. This standard promotes the decrease in the waste of necessary business resources and also reduces the pollution that can sometimes be a by product of a business.

About ISO 14001

The most updated version of the ISO 14001 was released in the year 2004 by the International Organisation of Standardization (ISO), which was attended by members from all the committees from around the world. In order for a company to be awarded the ISO 14001 standard certificate, an external auditor has to audit the company by an audit body that has been accredited by an accreditation body. The certification auditors are required to be accredited by the International Registrar of Certification Auditor and the certification body has to be accredited by the Registrar Accreditation Board in the USA or by the National Accreditation Board in Ireland.

The structure of ISO 14001 is very much like the ISO 9000, which is management standard, so these two standards can be implemented side by side to achieve the best results. As a part of the ISO 14000 family, which deals with different aspects of environmental issues, ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 14002 deal with environmental management system (EMS). ISO 14001 gives the requirements for the

EMS and ISO 14002 gives the basic guidelines for EMS.

Environmental Management System with ISO 14001:2004

The EMS, as per the requirements of the ISO 14001, enables the company, may it be of any size, location and income to:

  • It helps the company improve its environmental strategy and this positively affects their environmental performance.
  • It helps in identifying and controlling the environmental impact that the activities, services or products of the company might have.
  • And it helps in carrying out a systematic approach to set environmental targets and objectives, to achieve these and also to demonstrate that they have been achieved.

How does it work?

ISO 14001 does not specify or chalk out a definite level that each business has to reach. If the performance was determined, then it would have to be done for every specific business. But that is not how it works and has a very different approach, like:

  • The ISO has various standards dealing with environmental issues. ISO 14001 deals with a framework provided for a strategic and holistic approach to the businesses environmental policy, actions and plans.
  • It gives the general requirements for the EMS.
  • This also states the reference to the communication requirements for the communication of the environmental management issues between the company, stakeholders, the public and the regulators.
  • As these standards are not company specific, any and every business can undertake them as long as they are dedicated to the continued and improved environmental performance and they have a commitment to comply with the set norms.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

ISO 14001 Standards Training DVD

The ISO 14001:2004 Standards Environmental Management System DVD will elaborate in details on:
a.Introduction to ISO 14001:2004 Standards Environmental Management System.
b.The history & origin of the standards.
c.Requirement of ISO 14001:2004 Standards.
d.Contents Of ISO 14001:2004 Standards.
e.ISO 14001:2004 Implementation Steps & Checklist.


ISO 14001 Standards Video Clip

Improving the environmental performance of corporations is one way of limiting environmental damage by implementing ISO 14001 Standard / ISO 14001 Standards. Environmental management systems (EMS's), such as ISO 14001 Standard / ISO 14001 Standards, provide a framework for organizations that wish to effectively manage their environmental affairs. Implementing an EMS that conforms to the ISO 14001 standard / ISO 14001 Standards may help businesses integrate environmental values into their operations.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Business benefits of ISO 14001 Standards

Business benefits of ISO 14001 Standards

Any manager will try to avoid pollution that could cost the company a fine for infringing environmental legislation. But better managers will agree that doing only just enough to keep the company out of trouble with government inspectors is a rather weak and reactive approach to business in today’s increasingly environment-conscious world.
There is a better way. The ISO 14000 way. The ISO 14000 standards are practical tools for the manager who is not satisfied with mere compliance with legislation – which may be perceived as a cost of doing business. They’re for the proactive manager with the breadth of vision to understand that implementing a strategic approach can bring return on investment in environmentrelated measures. Implementing an ISO 14000-basedenvironmental management system, and using other tools from the ISO 14000 family, will give you far more than just confidence that you are complying with legislation.
The ISO 14000 approach forces you to take a hard look at all areas where your business has an environmental impact. And this systematic approach can lead to benefits like the following:
a. Reduced cost of waste managementb. Savings in consumption of energy and materialsc. Lower distribution costsd. Improved corporate image among regulators, customers and the publice. Framework for continuous improvement of your environmental performance.
The manager who is “too busy managing the business” to listen to good senseabout environmental management could actually be costing the business plenty. Just think, for example, of the lost opportunities for achieving benefits like those above.
The ISO 14000 standards are management tools that will help your businessachieve environmental goals that go way beyond acquiring a mere “green sheen”.