ISO 14001 - Sooner or later, you're going to have to address environmental issues

TrainingZone

ISO 14001 – Sooner or later, you’re going to have to address environmental issues

By TrainingZone

The future of the environment is becoming an increasingly prominent issue to consumers. The ability to demonstrate your commitment to the environment delivers:

a competitive advantage through reduced waste;

an increased positive perception amongst consumers;

security from possible litigation.

ISO 14001 is the universally recognised environmental standard. Based on ISO 9000 quality management principles, it can be added alongside an existing ISO 9000 system. ISO 14001 is applicable to all types of business and can be tailored to the specific requirements of each company. Basically it is a management commitment to an environmental policy. With today’s major retailers conducting extensive ‘green audits’ of their products and suppliers, can you afford not to consider ISO 14001?

So, what’s in it for your business? Here are ten good reasons for adopting greener practices:

Lower costs: by using less energy and producing less waste you can reduce your running costs;
Environmental legislation: legislation and regulations are becoming more stringent;

New economic instruments: such as taxes, charges and trade permits are rewarding clean companies;

It does not cost much: implementation of many environmental measures is quite simple and mostly means reducing waste through better management;

Purchasing policies of major companies: The more restrictive purchasing policies of some major companies and government agencies are putting pressure on their suppliers to show compliance with good environmental practice;

Customers: are increasingly demanding greener products from creditable sources: You cannot just say its green, you have to be able to prove it;

Competitive edge: companies which undertake measures ahead of legislation can gain a competitive advantage over their rivals;
Improved media image: and sales;
Improved staff morale and performance: Employees, particularly the best and brightest, prefer to work for an environmentally responsible company;

Cheaper finance and insurance premiums: Insurers have been hit by covering the environmental disasters of insured firms. They prefer to cover environmentally clean companies.