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ISO 14001:2004
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Organizations of all kinds are
increasingly concerned with achieving and demonstrating
sound environmental performance by controlling the impacts
of their activities, products and services on the
environment, consistent with their environmental policy and
objectives. They do so in the context of increasingly
stringent legislation, the development of economic policies
and other measures that foster environmental protection, and
increased concern expressed by interested parties about
environmental matters and sustainable development. |
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International Standards covering
environmental management are intended to provide
organizations with the elements of an effective
environmental management system (EMS) that can be integrated
with other management requirements and help organizations
achieve environmental and economic goals |
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This International Standard specifies
requirements for an environmental management system to
enable an organization to develop and implement a policy and
objectives which take into account legal requirements and
information about significant environmental aspects. It is
intended to apply to all types and sizes of organization and
to accommodate diverse geographical, cultural and social
conditions. The overall aim of this International Standard
is to support environmental protection and prevention of
pollution in balance with socio-economic needs. |
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This International Standard is based on
the methodology known as Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA). PDCA can
be briefly described as follows. |
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Plan: establish the objectives and
processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with
the organization's environmental policy. |
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Do: implement the processes. |
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Check: monitor and measure processes
against environmental policy, objectives, targets, legal and
other requirements, and report the results. |
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Act: take actions to continually
improve performance of the environmental management system. |
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This International Standard requires an
organization to
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Establish an appropriate environmental policy. |
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Identify the environmental aspects arising from the
organizations past, existing or planned activities, products and
services, in order to determine the environmental impacts of
significance. |
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Identify applicable legal requirements and other requirements,
to which the organization subscribes. |
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Identify priorities and set appropriate environmental objectives
and targets. |
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Establish a structure and a programme(s) to implement the policy
and achieve objectives and meet targets. |
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Facilitate planning, control, monitoring, preventive and
corrective actions, auditing and review activities to ensure
both that the policy is complied with and that the environmental
management system remains appropriate |
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| g) Be
capable of adapting to changing circumstances. |
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Some of
the benefits experienced by companies implementing ISO 14001
include :
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Process improvement. |
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Environmental cost reduction. |
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Better
relationships with regulators |
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Better
relationships with insurers, investors, and financial markets |
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Product
improvement |
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Marketing advantages |
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Better
control of liabilities |
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Reduced
regulatory burden |
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Protection of company image and name |
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Demonstration of responsible management |
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ISO 14001 is a process-oriented standard; it
implies a commitment to continuous improvement.
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The most important benefit of ISO
14001implementation is the monetary benefit derived from reduced
energy costs as a result of increased energy efficiency. The
other benefits include improved industrial relations with the
government through following of governmental regulations. In
addition, greater shareholder and customer confidence is
observed. Also, there is increase in labour productivity due to
improved work ethics and corporate identity. Since an EMS
according to ISO 14001 is based on the participation of the
entire staff, it enhances the integration of employees and
motivates them to actively participate in changes within the
organization. |
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The sales are also benefited as a result of
positive marketing effects due to certification and improved
industrial relations. |
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