The ISO 14001 (EMS) standard and the companion guideline are believed to have evolved as a natural adjunct to the ISO 9000 series of quality management systems (QMS). While there was an attempt to model the EMS after the QMS, environmental experts saw a need to depart significantly from this standard, primarily in terms of specific requirements. Although integration of ISO 14000 with ISO 9000 has many advantages (Tansey and Worsley, 1995), there are also several major differences between quality management and environmental management that impede total cor- respondence between the two standards. For instance, whereas quality standards affect an organization and its customers, environmental standards primarily affect an organization’s relationship to its neighbors, nearby creatures and ecologies. In addi- tion, unlike the quality field, the environmental field has been on several cases of con- frontation, burdened with political exploitation. If one fails to attain quality levels, it is normally not subject to civil and criminal sanctions, the one who transgresses the environmental laws clearly is. Therefore, dissimilarities are bound to exist between elements of the quality and the environmental management standards (Haklik, 1998).
ISO 14000 was considerably influenced by the ISO 9000, BS 7750 and EMAS regu- lations before it emerged as the international quality management standard. Rapid implementation has occurred in sectors like chemicals and electronics. ISO 9000 reg- istration has been strongly leveraged by customer/supplier relationships because ISO 9000 is market-driven; ISO 9000 companies require their suppliers to become certi- fied. This chain of commerce linkage is a highly compelling factor for companies to
proceed and it is believed that there is sufficient ISO 9000 momentum for a natural carry-through into ISO 14000 (Giese, 1996). A comparison of the two standards is given in Table 2.4 (Tansey and Worsley, 1995; Haklik, 1998).
Structure and technology
Three documents in the ISO 9000 series are classified as requirement documents, since they lay down the requirements for an organization that wants to be registered.
These standards in the ISO 9000 series are:
● ISO 9001. Model for quality assurance in design/development, production, instal- lation and servicing
● ISO 9004. Model for quality assurance in final inspection and test.
The equivalent to these standards in ISO 14001 is known as the specification docu- mentbecause it provides the specifications for an EMS. An organization must meet these specifications if it wants to be registered. Both the ISO 9000 and the ISO 14000
Table 2.4 Comparison of ISO 9000 and ISD 14000
ISO 9000 ISO 14000
Aims Providing suppliers a Providing organizations with the elements means for demonstrating of an EM: providing assistance to to customers the achievement organizations regarding the
of requirements for quality. implementation/improvement of an EMS, Enhancing the overall performance including advice on how to meet of a supplier organization in environmental performance expectations relation to quality
Structure Management activities, Adherence to ‘plan-do-check-act’ business process requirements and model
verification requirements;
separate guidance standard
Environmental The supplier shall define Addressing the need to identify all aspects and document how the environmental aspects of activities,
requirements for quality products or services will be met in order to
address customer quality specifications
Contents Both ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 contain elements of management commitment and responsibility, management system documentation, document control, operational control, training, monitoring and measurement, non-conformance and corrective action, records and audits ISO 9001 includes discrete ISO 14001 includes discrete elements of elements of quality planning, environmental aspects, legal requirements, product identification and objectives and targets, EM program, tractability, and statistical communications and emergency
techniques preparedness and response
Cascio, 1996; Tibor and Worsley, 1997
documents provide the same type of architecture even though the terminology differs.
While both systems share the same concept of targets and tolerances, they strongly differ in the variability of demands placed on the systems. In quality systems, a strong line of communication is established between customer and supplier. The registration systems provide assurance to customers that systems are in place to respond to cus- tomer needs (Tropea, 1997).
Some components of the ISO 14000 series, such as environmental labeling and life cycle assessment, as well as the environmental performance evaluation guideline doc- uments have no parallel in the ISO 9000 standards. While some correlation in the numbering system can be found, a one-to-one correspondence between document numbers and content does not exist.
Auditing
Auditing is a common denominator of both ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards.
Although there are some similarities between the two corresponding documents (i.e. use of the verb should), in general, the documents differ markedly. The ISO 9000 auditing documents are ISO 10011-1, which is the guideline for auditing quality systems; ISO 10011-2, which includes the qualification criteria for quality system assessors; and ISO 10011-3, a procedure for management of assessment programs. Moreover, ISO Guide 48 specifies guidelines for third-party assessment and registration of a supplier’s quality system (Haklik, 1998).
Similarly to ISO 9000, ISO 14000 mandates auditing to ensure that standard requirements are being met. Guidelines for these audits and qualification guidelines for auditors are provided in ISO 14010, 14011/1 and 14012. Audits may be performed internally by trained individuals within the company or by external auditors (Demetrakes, 1996). EMS auditors will also need experience and background in eval- uating a system’s ability to identify all environmental aspects, significant impacts and risk level of processes (Tansey and Worsley, 1995).
Documentation
Record management systems must be independently developed to meet a variety of internal and external stakeholder needs. Record management under the EMS standard must take into account the issue of liability and compliance with environmental regu- lations. Recent initiatives, such as privileged legislation in many states and the new EPA audit policy, enable organizations to establish more liberal record keeping pro- grams. There is no apparent description on the quality of records in terms of what records should be kept or how long they should be maintained (Tropea, 1997).
One of the strongest aspects of the ISO 9000 management model is the requirement for sound, comprehensive and controlled documentation. This model, which requires documentation for major elements of the quality system, is also included in the ISO 14000 standards. Record management, document control, documented procedures and training records must all be part of the EMS (Tansey and Worsley, 1995). The com- parison of requirements among major codes of environmental management practice is presented in Table 2.5 (Tansey and Worsley, 1995; Lamprecht, 1996; Haklik, 1998).
Table 2.5 Comparison of requirements as stated by major codes in environmental management practices
Requirements ISO 14001 BS 7750 EMAS Responsible CERES Keidahren
Care® Charter
Continuous Environmental Environmental Commit to Continuous Constantly Not addressed
improvement policy must policy must commit ‘reasonable improvement ‘update practices
‘include to continuous continuous required in light of
commitment to improvement of improvement’ explicitly in advances in continuous EP quantifiable, of EP reducing pollution technology and improvement’ in terms of environmental prevention and new understandings to the EMS environmental impacts to levels product in environmental
goals and targets not exceeding stewardship science’. Aiming those of EVABAT codes at eliminating the
release of any substances that may cause environmental damage
Assessment of ‘Establish and Develop a system Produce an Several codes Not addressed ‘All company environmental maintain a to identify, examine environmental require ‘regular in principles activities shall impacts procedure to and evaluate and statement including evaluations of although data on be scientifically
identify the record the ‘an assessment of risks’. Pollution chemical use, evaluated significance of environmental all environmental prevention waste generation, for their environmental effects, direct and issues’ and a report codes require and resource impact on the aspects of indirect, of its on pollution, use ‘quantitative consumption are environment’
activities, activities of resources and inventory of required for
products and other environment waste’ CERES report
services. related activities for
Workers must public distribution
be aware of their personal contribution to environment
Pollution ‘Commitment Refers to Annex Take ‘measures to ‘Ongoing ‘Reduce and ‘Employees prevention to prevention and to Standard prevent/eliminate reduction in where possible must be
of pollution’ as a corporate pollution or to waste and eliminate waste’ educated to including policy commitment reduce pollutant releases, is related through source ensure
pollution emissions and to source reduction and prevention
control waste generation reduction, to recycling of pollution
by using clean recycle/reuse and and energy
technologies’ to treatment’ conservation’
Environmental ‘Communicate Only environmental A description of Everyone ‘Inform Purchase conduct of relevant policy must be the environmental affected by customers about environmentally suppliers, performance’ made public; policy, program conditions caused the environmental friendly distributors, communications with factual data by the company impacts of its products. It
customers must be considered, and management that endanger products or will ‘provide
but what else is to system must be health, safety of services and try users with be communicated available to the the environment to correct information
is up to the public should be unsafe use’ on appropriate
management informed in a use and
timely manner. disposal
The company including
will seek advice recycling
and counsel with of their
persons in products’
communities near its facilities. The company will not take action against employees for reporting dangerous incidents Tansey and Worsley, 1995; Tibor and Feldman, 1995; Cascio et al., 1996