WHAT IS ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 is a global standard for environmental management systems (EMS). The standard provides the framework for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to environmental responsibility. The goal of the ISO 14001 standard is to give the top management of any organization a framework for managing environmental impacts.

Because of its generic nature and universal acceptance, ISO 14001 has the potential to affect the environmental management practices of virtually every manufacturing company in the world - its impact even extends beyond the industrial realm. Any company whose products, services or day-to-day activities have an impact on the environment needs to be aware of ISO 14001.

Like ISO 9000, ISO 14001 is a product of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO 14001 is the world's first generic, internationally recognized standard for environmental management. Of the group of ISO 14000 standards, ISO 14001 is the actual standard to which companies get registered. Experts are predicting that the impacts of this dynamic standard will transcend the vast popularity of the world-renowned ISO 9000 quality standard. ISO 14001 measures the conformance of an organization's EMS to the specified requirements.

The benefits of showing conformance to the ISO 14001 standard are numerous. For example, assuring compliance to the vast array of Federal and State environmental regulations requires significant effort and steady attention. Having a well defined EMS framework for these efforts, as defined in ISO 14001, will certainly help ease the burden for providing a systematic approach to compliance. Also, regulatory bodies seem to offer companies a certain "flexibility" contingent upon proven performance and public accountability records.

Compliance to ISO 14001 can provide the mechanism for an organization to more definitively establish itself as an genuine performer. In addition, Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) have indicated that certification may lead to a reduction in the number of inspections required for obtaining permits. In unique circumstances, the EPA has reduced fines on the condition that financial resources are put into better practices, including compliance to ISO 14001.

Through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), ISO 14001 is expected to become a prerequisite for doing business worldwide. Experts say that it is the market forces which will drive acceptance of the new global environmental standards.

WHAT IS RESPONSIBLE CARE©?

Responsible Care© is the logical next step: an amalgamation of ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.
The Responsible Care© initiative was launched in 1988 by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), and remains largely within the province of the chemical industry. Responsible Care© basically consists of three major elements:

1. All of the requirements of ISO 14001, the environmental standard;
2. All of the requirements of OHSAS 18001, the occupational health & safety specification; and
3. Public outreach.

While technically classified as a "voluntary" program, certification to Responsible Care© is required for any chemical company that wants to be a member of ACC. And although the program has been around for about 14 years, the initiative to train and certify independent, 3rd-party auditors is only just now getting underway. Under this updated program, Responsible Care© will be an auditable specification known as "RC-14001."