ISO 14001 is one of a series of emerging international environmental management standards aimed at promoting continual improvement in company environmental performance through the adoption and implementation of an environmental management system. The standard specifies the core elements of an EMS, but contains only those elements that may be objectively audited for certification or self-declaration purposes.
The systematic ISO 14001:2004 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.
