1. INTRODUCTION.

The ISO 14000 is a family of internationally-recognized standards for

environmental systems that is applicable to any business or organization, regardless
of size, location or income. The overall objective of the ISO 14000 Environmental
Management Standard is to encourage environmental protection and pollution
prevention while taking into account the economic needs of society. This ISO 14000
Environmental Management Standard exists to help organizations minimize how their
operations negatively affect the environment. A company with an environmental
management system like ISO 14000 is less likely to have environmental problems.
Often, firms following ISO 14000 incur significant savings through better overall
resource management and waste reduction.

The ISO 14000 offers a source of guidance for introducing and adopting
environmental management systems based on the best universal practices, in the same
way that the ISO 9000 series on quality management systems, which is widely
applied, represents a tool for technology transfer of the best available quality
management practices. In structure the ISO 14000 series is similar to ISO 9000
quality management and both can be implemented side by side The ISO 14000 family
includes most notably the ISO 14000 standard, which represents the core set of
standards used by organizations for designing and implementing an effective
environmental management system. Other standards included are ISO 14004, which
gives additional guidelines for a good environmental management system, and more
specialized standards dealing with specific aspects of environmental management.
2. ISO 14000.

ISO 14000 is divided into two main classifications; Organization Process

Oriented Standards and Product Oriented Standards. These two main standards are
usually used by a company to monitor its processes and products to determine their
effect on the environment. Within the two standards, six topic areas are covered:
a. Environmental Management Systems.
b. Environmental Performance Evaluation.
c. Environmental Auditing.
d. Life Cycle Assessment.
e. Environmental Labeling.
f. Environmental Aspects in Product Standards.

The ISO 14000 series of standards enables a company to improve environmental

management voluntarily. The standards do not establish product or performance
standards, establish mandates for emissions or pollutant levels, or specify test
methods. The standards do not expand upon existing government regulations. ISO
14000 is a guide for environmentally conscious companies wishing to lessen their
impact on the environment.

The figure below shows information about the general structure of the ISO 14000
process-oriented and product oriented series of standards:
• ISO 14000
o Environmental Management Systems – Specification with
Guidance for Use.
• ISO 14004
o Environmental Management Systems – General Guidelines on
Principles, Systems, and Supporting Techniques.
• ISO 14010
o Guidelines for Environmental Auditing – General Principles on
Environmental Auditing.
• ISO 14011
o Guidelines for Environmental Auditing – Audit Procedures –
Auditing of Environmental Management Systems.
• ISO 14012
o Guidelines for Environmental Auditing – Qualification Criteria for
Environmental Auditors.
• ISO 14014
o Initial Reviews.
• ISO 14015
o Environmental Site Assessments.
• ISO 14031
o Evaluation of Environmental Performance.
• ISO 14020
o Goals and Principles of All Environmental Labeling.
• ISO 14021
o Environmental Labels and Declarations – Self-Declaration
Environmental Claims – Terms and Definitions.
• ISO 14022
o Environmental Labels and Declarations – Symbols.
• ISO 14023
o Environmental Labels and Declarations – Testing and
Verifications.
• ISO 14024
o Environmental Labels and Declarations – Environmental Labeling.
Type 1 – Guiding Principles and Procedures.
• ISO 1402X
o Type 3 – Labeling.
• ISO 14040
o Life Cycle Assessment – Principles and Framework.
 • ISO 14041
o Life Cycle Assessment – Life Cycle Inventory Analysis.
• ISO 14042
o Life Cycle Assessment – Impact Assessment.
• ISO 14043
o Life Cycle Assessment – Interpretation.
• ISO 14050
o Terms and Definitions – Guide in the Principles of
ISO/TC207/SC6 Terminology Work.
• ISO Guide 64
o Guide for the Inclusion of Environmental Aspects of Product
Standards.

For each series, specific activities are required. For instance within ISO 14001,
Environmental Management Systems, companies must provide:
• 4.1 General Requirements – Details concerning their environmental policy
and the structure of their overall environmental management plan.
• 4.2 Environmental Policy – Serves as the foundation for the environmental
management plan.
• 4.3 Planning – Provides details on what must be done to support the
targets and objectives set by the policy.
• 4.4 Implementation and Operation – Establishes procedures and processes
that allow the plan to be implemented, including the structure of the
communication and document control systems, as well as emergency
preparedness and response systems.
• 4.5 Checking and Corrective Action – Monitors the environmental
management system. Companies seeking ISO 14000 certification are
expected to have in place an internal auditing system supported by
corrective action plans.
• 4.6 Management Review – Ensures that the entire process is reviewed
regularly so that opportunities for improvement are not overlooked.