ISO 14000 Essential and Benefits

Understand the basics

This section explains what generic management system standards are.
Generic
Generic means that the same standard can be applied to any organization, large or small, whatever its
product or service, in any sector of activity, and whether it is a business enterprise, a public administration,
or a government department.
Management system
Management system refers to what the organization does to manage its processes, or activities, so that its
products or services meet the objectives it has set itself, such as:

satisfying the customer's quality requirements,

complying with regulations, or

meeting environmental objectives.

Management system standards

Management system standards provide a model to follow in setting up and operating a management
system. This model incorporates the features on which experts in the field have reached a consensus as
being the international state of the art.
Plan Do Check Act
The Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) cycle is the operating principle of ISO's management system
standards.

Plan establish objectives and make plans (analyze your organization's situation, establish your overall
objectives and set your interim targets, and develop plans to achieve them).
Do implement your plans (do what you planned do).

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Check measure your results (measure/monitor how far your actual achievements meet your planned
objectives).
Act correct and improve your plans and how you put them into practice (correct and learn from your mistakes to
improve your plans in order to achieve better results next time).

Benefits
This section explains how ISO management system standards put state-of-the-art practices within
the reach of all organization.
In a very small organization, there may be no "system", just "our way of doing things", and "our way" is
probably not written down, but all in the head of the manager or owner.
The larger the organization, and the more people involved, the more the likelihood that there are written
procedures, instructions, forms or records. These help ensure that everyone is not just "doing his or her own
thing", and that the organization goes about its business in an orderly and structured way. This means that
time, money and other resources are utilized efficiently.
To be really efficient and effective, the organization can manage its way of doing things by
systemizing it. This ensures that nothing important is left out and that everyone is clear about who is
responsible for doing what, when, how, why and where.
Large organizations, or ones with complicated processes, could not function well without management
systems. Companies in such fields as aerospace, automobiles, defence, or health care devices have been
operating management systems for years.
ISO's management system standards make this good management practice available to organizations of
all sizes, in all sectors, everywhere in the world.

ISO 14000 essentials

This section concisely describes the essential features of the ISO 14000 family.
The ISO 14000 family addresses various aspects of environmental management. The very first two
standards, ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 14004:2004 deal with environmental management systems (EMS). ISO
14001:2004 provides the requirements for an EMS and ISO 14004:2004 gives general EMS guidelines.
The other standards and guidelines in the family address specific environmental aspects, including: labeling,
performance evaluation, life cycle analysis, communication and auditing.
An ISO 14001:2004-based EMS

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An EMS meeting the requirements of ISO 14001:2004 is a management tool enabling an organization of any
size or type to:

identify and control the environmental impact of its activities, products or services, and to

improve its environmental performance continually, and to

implement a systematic approach to setting environmental objectives and targets, to achieving these
and to demonstrating that they have been achieved.

How it works
ISO 14001:2004 does not specify levels of environmental performance. If it specified levels of environmental
performance, they would have to be specific to each business activity and this would require a specific EMS
standard for each business. That is not the intention.
ISO has many other standards dealing with specific environmental issues. The intention of ISO 14001:2004
is to provide a framework for a holistic, strategic approach to the organization's environmental policy,
plans and actions.
ISO 14001:2004 gives the generic requirements for an environmental management system. The underlying
philosophy is that whatever the organization's activity, the requirements of an effective EMS are the same.
This has the effect of establishing a common reference for communicating about environmental
management issues between organizations and their customers, regulators, the public and other
stakeholders.
Because ISO 14001:2004 does not lay down levels of environmental performance, the standard can to be
implemented by a wide variety of organizations, whatever their current level of environmental maturity.
However, a commitment to compliance with applicable environmental legislation and regulations is
required, along with a commitment to continual improvement for which the EMS provides the framework.
The EMS standards
ISO 14004:2004 provides guidelines on the elements of an environmental management system and its
implementation, and discusses principal issues involved.
ISO 14001:2004 specifies the requirements for such an environmental management system. Fulfilling
these requirements demands objective evidence which can be audited to demonstrate that the
environmental management system is operating effectively in conformity to the standard.
What can be achieved
ISO 14001:2004 is a tool that can be used to meet internal objectives:

provide assurance to management that it is in control of the organizational processes and activities
having an impact on the environment

assure employees that they are working for an environmentally responsible organization.
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ISO 14001:2004 can also be used to meet external objectives:

provide assurance on environmental issues to external stakeholders such as customers, the

community and regulatory agencies

comply with environmental regulations

support the organization's claims and communication about its own environmental policies, plans and
actions

provides a framework for demonstrating conformity via suppliers' declarations of conformity,

assessment of conformity by an external stakeholder - such as a business client - and for certification of
conformity by an independent certification body.

Business benefits of ISO 14000

This section identifies typical benefits for organizations of implementing ISO 14000 standards.
Most managers 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 environmentconscious world.
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 are for the proactive manager
with the vision to understand that implementing a strategic approach can bring return on investment in
environment-related measures.
The systematic ISO 14001:2000 approach requires the organization to take a hard look at all areas where its
activities have an environmental impact. And it can lead to benefits like the following:

reduced cost of waste management

savings in consumption of energy and materials

lower distribution costs

improved corporate image among regulators, customers and the public

framework for continual improvement of environmental performance.

The manager who is "too busy managing the business" to listen to good sense about environmental
management could actually be costing the business, instead of achieving benefits like those above.

ISO 14001:2000 and SME's

This section explains that small and medium-sized enterprises can also benefit from ISO 14001:2004
and points to some resources.

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The importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)to economies around the world is beyond
dispute. Surveys have shown that, on a global basis, more than 90 % of all businesses are SMEs.
Experience shows that SMEs can implement an effective EMS and can realize a variety of benefits from
doing so. However, EMS implementation in smaller enterprises can present significant challenges. An SME
Task Group at ISO has developed recommendations to change that perception, and make it easier for
SMEs to benefit from implementing an EMS based on ISO 14001:2000.
Taking the first steps
This article from ISO Management Systems magazine explains clearly how an SME can implement an
environmental management system so that the process is not a series of hurdles, but rather a set of practical
steps towards raising environmental and business performance.

Read more (PDF, 412 kB)

Using an EMS consultant or going it alone

This article from ISO Management Systems magazine helps SME managers answer some essential
questions. Should you hire a consultant to help with environmental management system implementation, or
go it alone? What are the advantages and potential pitfalls? How can you get best value for money if you hire
a consultant and what are the criteria you should use for choosing one?

ISO and the environment

The ISO 14000 family is the most visible part of ISO's work for the environment. This section gives
the whole picture.
ISO has a multi-faceted approach to meeting the needs of business, industry, governments and consumers
in the field of the environment.
Firstly, ISO it offers a wide-ranging portfolio of standardized sampling, testing and analytical methods to
deal with specific environmental challenges. It has developed more than 350 International Standards for the
monitoring of such aspects as the quality of air, water and soil. These standards are a means of providing
business and government with scientifically valid data on the environmental effects of economic activity.
They may also be used as the technical basis for environmental regulations.
Secondly, ISO offers a strategic approach through the ISO 14000 family of environmental management
standards developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 207 that can be implemented in any type of
organization in either public or private sector (companies, administrations, public utilities).
Thirdly, ISO/TC TC 207 also works on documents to facilitate the fusion of business and environmental
goals by encouraging the inclusion of environmental aspects in product design.

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ISO/TR 14062, Environmental management - Integrating environmental aspects into product design
and development, enables organizations to identify the likely effects on the environment of their future
products and make effective decisions during the design and development stages to improve their
environmental performance.
Fourthly, ISO/TC 207 is helping to meet the new challenge of climate change by developing the new ISO
14064 standard for greenhouse gas verification and accounting.

Certification
Certification is not a requirement of any of ISO's management system standards. This section
provides a basic understanding of what certification and related terms mean.
Certification, registration and accreditation
In the context of ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004, certification refers to the issuing of written assurance
(the certificate) by an independent external body that it has audited a management system and verified that it
conforms to the requirements specified in the standard.
Registration means that the auditing body then records the certification in its client register. So, the
organizations management system has been both certified and registered.
Therefore, in the ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 context, the difference between the two terms is not
significant and both are acceptable for general use. Certification is the term most widely used
worldwide, although registration is often preferred in North America, and the two are used
interchangeably.
On the contrary, using accreditation as an interchangeable alternative for certification or registration is a
mistake, because it means something different.

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In the ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 context, accreditation refers to the formal recognition by a
specialized body an accreditation body that a certification body is competent to carry out ISO
9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 certification in specified business sectors.
In simple terms, accreditation is like certification of the certification body. Certificates issued by accredited
certification bodies may be perceived on the market as having increased credibility.
See ISO/IEC 17000:2004, Conformity assessment - Vocabulary and general principles.

ISO does not carry out certification

ISO is responsible for developing, maintaining and publishing the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families of
standards but ISO does not itself audit or assess the management systems of organizations to verify
that they have been implemented in conformity with the requirements of the standards.
ISO does not issue ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 certificates.
The auditing and certification of management systems is carried out independently of ISO by more than
750 certification bodies active around the world. ISO has no authority to control their activities. The ISO
9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 certificates issued by certification bodies are issued under their own
responsibility and not under ISO's name.
ISO itself does not carry out assessments or audits to check that its standards are being implemented by
users in conformity with the requirements of the standards. Conformity assessment as this process is
known is a matter between suppliers and their customers in the private sector, and of regulatory bodies
when ISO standards have been incorporated into public legislation.
In addition, there exist many testing laboratories and certification bodies which offer independent (also
known as "third party") conformity assessment services to provide confirmation that products (including
hardware, software and processed materials), services or systems measure up to ISO standards.
Such organizations may perform these services under a mandate to a regulatory authority, or as a
commercial activity, the aim of which is to create confidence between suppliers and their clients.
In some countries, the national standards institutes that make up ISO's membership carry out conformity
assessment, either on behalf of their respective governments, or as a business operation. ISO itself has no
authority to control conformity assessment activities, whether these are business activities by its
members, or by other organizations.
However, ISO's Committee on conformity assessment, ISO/CASCO, develops standards and guidelines
covering various aspects of conformity assessment activities and the organizations that perform them.
The voluntary criteria contained in these standards and guides represent an international consensus on
good practice. Their use contributes to the consistency of conformity assessment worldwide and so
facilitates trade across borders.

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Conformity assessment
The first part of this section gives a detailed overview to answer such questions as what is conformity
assessment, what does it imply, how does it work and what exactly do the various terms mean. Explanations
are given to help both companies beginning to explore the possibility of obtaining certification for themselves
or their products. and customers who are seeking clarification of the various certification claims they
encounter.
A further part gives information on the objectives, structure and workings of CASCO, the ISO Committee on
conformity assessment, which has been actively addressing questions of conformity assessment since it was
founded in 1970. A link to the working area (password-protected) of CASCO members is included.
Finally, information is given on the various publications, press releases, communiqus and workshops which
directly result from CASCO's work or are related to ISO's activities in conformity assessment.

What is conformity assessment?

Conformity assessment is the name given to the processes that are used to demonstrate that a product
(tangible) or a service or a management system or body meets specified requirements. These requirements
are contained in ISO/IEC standards and guides. The processes that need to be followed to be able to
demonstrate that they meet the requirements are also contained in ISO/IEC standards and guides.
The use of ISO/IEC standards in conformity assessment procedures allows for harmonization throughout the
world and this, in turn, not only facilitates international trade between countries but also facilitates trade
within countries by giving the purchaser of the product or service confidence that it meets the requirements.
Conformity assessment can cover one or more of the following activities:

Testing of a product/service to determine if it complies or performs in accordance with the specified

requirements.

Inspecting the manufacturing process of a product to ensure that it is manufactured in a safe manner and
according to regulations (e.g. fire extinguishers).

Implementing a management system to ensure that products/services are produced or delivered by an

organization in a consistent manner and meet customers' expectations.

Benefits of conformity assessment

Conformity assessment provides benefits to everyone in the supply and demand chain. This includes the
consumer, manufacturer and the supplier. It also includes regulators who are responsible for ensuring the
health and safety of the general public.

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The consumer benefits from conformity assessment, as it is a mechanism providing confidence to

consumers that the products and services they purchase are fit for the purpose. It may also allow the
consumer the possibility to seek appropriate remedies should the product be found not to meet the specified
requirements.
For manufacturers, it allows them to have peace of mind that they have implemented systems within their
own organizations to ensure that the products and services they deliver meet the necessary criteria. The fact
that their product or service meets ISO International Standards also gives them a competitive edge over
those that do not.
For regulators, it allows them to use the conformity assessment infrastructure as part of the process they
use to ensure health and safety as well as environmental conditions are being continuously met. The
regulator will often make conformity assessment obligatory when it involves health, safety and/or
environmental issues. Without official assessment and approval the regulator may prohibit the sale of
products and services.
Therefore not only does conformity assessment provide confidence to consumers and purchasers but it also
facilitates the free flow of goods and services between national boundaries.

How conformity assessment works

Conformity assessment activities can be characterized as:
First party - this is the technical term used when conformity assessment to a standard, specification or
regulation is carried out by the supplier organization itself. In other words, it is a self-assessment. This is
known as a supplier's declaration of conformity.
Second party - this is defined as the conformity assessment activity which is performed by the customer of
the organization. For example the manufacturer would allow his customer to do an assessment of the
product against the requirements.
Third party - this is defined as the conformity assessment activity that is performed by a body that is
independent of the organization that provides the product and is not a user of the product. An example of this
would be when an independent certification body certifies that another organization complies with ISO 9001
and issues it with a certificate to this effect.
Very often the decision to use one type of conformity assessment above another will depend on a number of
factors, one of which is the level of risk associated with the product/service and the customer's requirements.

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We can therefore say that conformity assessment is a series of three functions (functional approach) that
satisfy a need or a demand for demonstration that specified requirements are fulfilled. These three functions
are:
1.

Selection

2.

Determination

3.

Review and attestation

Such determination adds credibility to claims that specified requirements are fulfilled, giving users greater
confidence in such claims. ISO standards are used as the specified requirements.
Conformity assessment may be applied to products which includes services, process and systems for
example management systems.

Mechanisms for performing conformity assessment

Testing
This is the most common form of conformity assessment. Testing also provides the basis for other types of
conformity assessment like inspection and product certification. Here a product is tested against a specified
set of criteria. It can be used to make decisions on the performance of the product. Depending on the risk
associated with the product, the testing laboratory may choose to be accredited.
The general requirements for laboratories or other organizations to be considered competent to carry out
testing calibration and sampling are specified in the joint International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005
General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.
Inspection bodies
These organizations examine a huge range of products, materials, installations, plants, processes, work
procedures and services, in the private as well as the public sector, and report on such parameters as
quality, fitness for use and continuing safety in operation. The overall aim is to reduce risk to the buyer,
owner, user or consumer of the item being inspected.
The general requirements for the operation of various types of inspection body are given in the joint
International Standard ISO/IEC 17020:1998 General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies
performing inspection.
Certification/registration
Certification/registration is when a third party gives written assurance that a product (including services),
process, personnel, organization or management system conforms to specific requirements.
The terms certification and registration are interchangeable and the use of one over the other is largely
dependant on the geographical region.
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Management system certification

The most well-known examples are the certification of quality management systems and environmental
management systems as conforming, respectively, to ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards. More than 800
000 organizations worldwide have been certified to ISO 9001 and/or ISO 14001. It should be noted that ISO
itself does not assess the conformity of quality or environmental management systems to ISO 9000 or ISO
14000 standards. ISO does not issue certificates of conformity to these standards. ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
certification is carried out independently of ISO by the many certification or registration bodies active
nationally or internationally.
Although ISO does not control the certification bodies, it contributes to best practice and consistency in their
activities through the development of standards and guides. ISO/IEC 17021, which gives general
requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems, is applicable for all types
of management systems generally. ISO has developed some sector specific management standards which
all have their basis in ISO/IEC 17021 and only differ in those areas which are deemed absolutely necessary
and relate specifically to the discipline covered. For example, food safety and ISO/TS 22003, developed for
the certification of management systems related to food safety.
The list of accreditation bodies with their contact information and links to their Web sites can be found on the
Internet site of the International Accreditation Forum (www.iaf.nu), under "Members" > "Accreditation
members". In general, accreditation bodies' Web sites contain an up-to-date list of certification bodies that
they have accredited which can be used for selecting a certification body.
Product certification
ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996 General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems can be used
in combination with a number of related product standards and guides to demonstrate that a product
complies with specified criteria. There are other standards within this family of standards that give guidance
of the various types of product certification schemes which can be used.
Product certification may consist of initial testing of a product combined with assessment of its supplier's
quality management system. This may be followed up by testing of samples from the factory and/or the open
market. Other product certification schemes comprise initial testing and surveillance testing, while still others
rely on the testing of a sample product - this is known as type testing.
The type of product certification scheme chosen will depend on the level of risk to the consumer as well as
other factors. For a very low risk product you may have a once-off type test and for a high risk product you
may have a scheme which has type testing, requires an ISO 9001 management system in place with regular
product testing from the factory and also products taken from the outlets for testing.
Personnel certification
ISO/IEC 17024:2003 specifies requirements for a body certifying persons against specific requirements,
including the development and maintenance of a certification scheme for personnel.

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A listing of all CASCO documents (referred to collectively as the CASCO toolbox) is available under the
section Publications and Resources.
Accreditation
Accreditation is the procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition that a body or person
is competent to carry out specific tasks.
In relation to management systems, an accreditation body will evaluate the competence of a certification
body to perform the certifications for which it wishes to be accredited. Once accredited, this indicates to the
client of the certification body that its competence to do the certifications has been independently confirmed.
Accreditation of testing laboratories, product certification and inspection bodies is also carried out. This again
is independent verification that they are competent to perform the activities for which they are accredited.
Some conformity assessment bodies may wish to distinguish themselves from their competitors by having an
impartial evaluation of their competence by an accreditation body based on internationally-recognized
criteria. These criteria are contained in ISO/IEC 17011 Conformity assessment - General requirements for
accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies. These conformity assessment bodies are
then said to be accredited.
Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA's)
The primary objective of conformity assessment is to give its users confidence that requirements applicable
to products, services, systems, processes and materials have been met. One of the reasons why
internationally-traded goods and services are subject to repeated conformity assessment controls is a lack of
confidence by users of conformity assessment in one country regarding the competence of bodies carrying
out conformity assessment activities in other countries. Therefore, measures are needed to increase the
confidence of both private and public sector purchasers, and of regulators, in the work of conformity
assessment bodies and accreditation bodies - particularly those in other countries.
Such confidence can be achieved through cross-border cooperation among conformity assessment bodies
and also among accreditation bodies. This cooperation is formalized in what are known as Mutual
Recognition Agreements/Arrangements (MRAs) whereby the parties involved agree to recognize the results
of each other's testing, inspection, certification or accreditation. MRAs can be an important step towards
reducing the multiple conformity assessment that products, services, systems, processes and materials may
need to undergo, especially when they are traded across borders. Since MRAs facilitate the acceptance of
goods and services everywhere on the basis of a single assessment in one country, they contribute to the
efficiency of the international trading system to the benefit of suppliers and customers alike.
ISO/IEC Guide 68:2002 provides an introduction to the development, issuance and operation of
arrangements for the recognition and acceptance of results produced by bodies undertaking similar
conformity assessment and related activities.
Supplier's declaration of conformity (SDoC)

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By making a self-declaration of conformity, a supplier organization avoids the costs of third-party assessment
but commits that they do in fact meet the criteria and should be able to demonstrate this should they be so
requested. A supplier may decide to take this option if it believes that it enjoys a sufficiently high market
reputation for it to dispense with independent confirmation of conformity. However, a supplier's declaration
may not be appropriate in all cases, particularly where the health, safety or environmental risks of the
product concerned are high. A self-declaration does not exempt the supplier from its responsibility to meet
relevant regulations - for example, in relation to product liability - and such declarations generally need to be
accompanied by effective post-market surveillance.
ISO/IEC 17050 specifies the general criteria for a supplier's declaration of conformity in relation to
International Standards.

Related information

ISO and conformity assessment brochure (PDF, 220 kB)

Related links

International Accreditation Forum (IAF)

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