The ISO 14001(Environmental Management System) standard, published in September 1996, provides a model for establishing a management system focused on controlling and improving a company’s impacts on the environment. This session describes environmental management systems, tools, and techniques as a framework for the continual improvement of environmental performance, with ISO 14001 promising cost savings, waste reduction, energy efficiency, resource productivity and improving public relations and accountability.

This session will also discuss the similarities between ISO 9001 and ISO 14000, as well as what companies should consider when starting an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) implementation. ISO 14000 is a series of standards. Describing EMS, tools, and techniques. One of these standards, ISO 14001, is the internationally accepted model for the implementation of EMS. It is an auditable standard similar to ISO 9001 and includes a framework for continuous improvement of environmental performance, control and regulatory compliance.

ISO 14001 is not a government standard, nor is it primarily focused on regulatory compliance. It is a systematic approach to improving all aspects of a company’s environmental management and relies on a continuous cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the actions the company takes to meet its environmental obligations.