ISO 14001

Definition

ISO 14001 is the most widely recognized international standard. ISO14001 sets requirements for companies and organizations to construct environmental management systems (EMS). Companies that implement EMS can receive ISO 14001 certification after passing a third-party review. A growing number of companies is endeavoring to implement and qualify for ISO 14001 certification.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) asserts that the ISO 14001 specifications are essential when creating an EMS structure that will continually work to improve environmental performance, such as by reducing the environmental burden from business activities, products, and services *1. Corporate interest in EMS as a method for realizing "sustainable development" began elevating around the time of the 1992 Earth Summit, and resulted in the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) adoption of ISO14001 in 1996. Companies that created EMS based on ISO 14001 specifications have the option of making

a self-declaration of conformity or obtaining third party certification. The benefits of introducing the system include more effective environmental protection measures and better environmental risk management and also helps realize a company image as an environmentally friendly operation *2. According to The Japan Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment (JAB), which certifies and registers certification bodies for Japanese Industrial Standards and international standards including ISO 14001, in Japan, electronics industry firms were the first to aggressively seek ISO14001 certification and the trend has spread to local governments, trading companies, medical institutions, and financial institutions. Japan currently boasts the largest number of ISO 14001 certifications in the world *3.