Environmental Management Systems
Environmental Management Systems help organizations to minimize their impact on the environment. Use the links below to find out more.
- History of the ISO 14000 series
- What is ISO 14000?
- The family of ISO 14000 Standards
- How is ISO 14001 different from EMAS?
- How much does registration (certification) cost?
- Further information
History of the ISO 14000 series
BS 7750, the world's first national Environmental Management System (EMS) Standard, was published by BSI in 1992, the same year as the World's first Earth Summit. The following year, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) set up a technical committee and in September 1996, ISO 14001 was published along with its sister guidance, ISO 14004. Since then there have been regular additions to the ISO 14000 series, extending the environmental management techniques and tools.
What is ISO 14000?
ISO 14000 is a series of International Environmental Management Standards (EMS). It provides a framework for the development of environmental performance control for all types of businesses and organizations, and guidelines on environmental auditing.
ISO 14001 is the key Standard in the series. It sets out the requirements an organization must meet to achieve registration (also known as certification).
It is designed to be used as a management tool by all types of organization, to enable them to minimise their impact on the environment. The system measures processes and allows the tracking of environmental performance.
The family of ISO 14000 Standards
ISO 14001:2004 - Environmental management systems - Requirements with guidance for use
ISO 14004:2004 - Environmental Management systems - General guidelines on principles, systems and support techniques
ISO 140101:1996 - Guidelines for environmental auditing - General principles
ISO 14001:1996 - Guidelines for environmental auditing - Audit procedures - Auditing of environmental management systems
ISO 14012:1996 - Guidelines for environmental auditing - Qualification criteria for environmental auditors
ISO 14000 series of EMS supporting environmental management tools and techniques
The series includes information on the use of environmental labels. The recycling symbol
(called the Mobius Loop) is set out in ISO 14020. When the symbol appears with a percentage sign, it means that a proportion of the product is
made of recycled material.
How is ISO 14001 different from EMAS?
EMAS is the European Union's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme regulation.
- EMAS is an EU regulation (not a standard) although, like a standard, it is a voluntary scheme.
- If an organization has met the requirements of ISO 14001, it has met all the EMS requirements of the regulation.
- EMAS has additional requirements that mean the organization must report publicly on its environmental performance at least once every three years.
How much does registration (certification) cost?
The cost depends on a number of factors such as the size of company, number of sites, type of company and complexity of processes, so costs have to be estimated on a case-by-case basis. For ISO 14001, organizations can also get quotes for assessment costs from different bodies, providing the registration body is accredited to offer ISO 14001 registration by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service).
Further information
The ISO web site has further in-depth information on the ISO 14001 series.
There is no official central database of organizations certified to ISO 14001, but ISO carries out a regular survey.