ISO 14000

The ISO 14000 is a standard for environmental management systems that is applicable to any business, regardless of size, location or income. The aim of the standard is to reduce the environmental footprint of a business and to decrease the pollution and waste a business produces. The most recent version of ISO 14001 was released in 2004 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) which has representation from committees all over the world.

The major objective of the ISO 14000 series of norms is "to promote more effective and efficient environmental management in organizations and to provide usefull and usable tools - one that are cost effective. system-based, flexible nd reflect the best organizations and the best organizational practices available for gathering, interpreting and comunicating environmentally relavant information". The intended end result is the improvement of environmental performance.

It offers source of guidance for introducing and adopting environmental management systems based on the best universal practices, in the same way that the ISO 9000 series on quality management systems, which is now widely applied, represens a tool for technology trasfer of the best available quality management practices.

The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment. In structure it is similar to ISO 9000 quality management and both can be implemented side by side. In order for an organization to be awarded an ISO 14001 certificate they must be externally audited by an audit body that has been accredited by an accreditation body. In the UK, this is UKAS. Certification auditors need to be accredited by the International Registrar of Certification Auditors. The certification body has to be accredited by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board in the USA, or the National Accreditation Board in Ireland.