Environmental Management Systems: ISO-14000 Standards
In the recent years, there has been a total shift in the policy to control industrial pollution. Instead of controlling pollution at end points after the production activities are over, the latest approach is based on ‘Environmental Management System’ (EMS).
It provides a way to minimize the harmful effects of an activity on the environment. It involves the following steps:• Review of environmental consequences of the operations
• Defining policies and objectives for environmental performance
• Establishing an action plan for achievement of objectives
• Monitoring performance against the objectives
• Appropriately reporting the results
• Reviewing the system and improving it continuously.
Two important EMS have emerged which are ISO 14001 and Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). ISO stands for International Standards Organisation. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland and was founded in 1947. It has laid down more than 8000 standards.
There are more than 120 countries including India which are full voting members. However, some other countries are only observer members. Only the full member countries participate in the development of standards while other countries are also kept informed about the developments and activities. India is officially represented by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The concept of EMS emerged after the Rio Earth Summit.
ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards are internationally accepted series of standards. These standards are marked on various products and services. ISO 9000 is related to quality management and quality assurance whereas ISO 14000 standards are related to the environmental aspects.
ISO 14000 series contains (a) Organisation and Process Standards, (b) Product-oriented standards and (c) Terms and definitions. Table 14.1 gives some details of ISO 14000 series standards which are applicable at the organizational level.
Table 14.1 Summary of ISO 14000 Series of standards level-wise and area-wise applicable at Organisational Level
| Implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) | ISO 14001:1996 ISO 14004:1996 Help an organization to establish a new or improve an existing EMS | ISO 14001:1996 Specifies the requirements for an EMS that may be objectively audited for selfdeclaration, second or third- party certification/ registration purposes | ISO 14004:1996 Provides guidance to help an organization establish and implement an EMS, including guidance that goes beyond the requirements ofISO 14001 | ISO/TR 14061:1998 Contains information that assists in the implementation of ISO 14001 and ISO 14004 by forest management organizations and the forest products industry | ||
| Conducting Environmental Audits and Other related Investigations | ISO 14010:1996 Provides guidance on the general principles common to the conduct of any environmental audit | ISO 14011:1996 Provides guidance on the procedures for the conduct of EMS audits, including the criteria for selection and composition of audit teams | ISO 14012:1996 Provides guidance on the qualifications of internal or external environmental auditors and lead auditors | ISO 14015:2001 Helps an organization to identify and assess the environmental aspects and associated business consequences of sites and organizations | ISO 19011:2002 (replaces ISO 14010,14011, and 14012) Provides guidance on the principles of auditing; the management of audit programmes; the conduct of |
Continued.
Environmental Management__________________________________________ 287
| to support the transfer of properties, responsibilities and obligations from one party to another | management system audits as well as on the competence of auditors | |||||
| Evaluating Environmental Performance | ISO 14031:1999 Provides guidance on the selection and use of indicators to evaluate an organization’s environmental performance | ISO 14032:1999 Provides examples from real organizations to illustrate the use of the guidance in ISO 14031 | Communicating results | ISO/WD 14063 Will provide guidance on environmental communication related to an organization’s environmental aspects and performance | Understanding terms and definitons | ISO 14050:2002 Helps an organization to understand the terms used ih the ISO 14000 series standards |
| Using Environmental Declarations And claims | ISO 14020:2000 Provides general principles which serve as a basis for the development of ISO guidelines and standards on environmental claims and declarations | ISO 14021:1999 Provides guidance on the terminology, symbols and testing and verification methodologies an organization should use for self-declaration of the environmental | ISO 14024:1999 Provides the guiding principles and procedures for third-party environmental labelling certification programs (Type I Environmental Labelling) | ISO/TR 14025:2000 Identifies and describes elements and issues for consideration when making declarations of quantified product information based on Life Cycle Inventory data |
Continued.
288 Environmental Science
| aspects of its products and services (Type II Environmental Labelling) | (Type IH Environmental declarations) | |||||
| Conducting Life cycle Assessment (LCA) | ISO 14040:1999 Provides the general principles, framework and methodological requirements for the LCA of products and services | ISO 14041:1998 Provides guidance for determining the goal and scope of an LCA study, and for conducting a life cycle inventory | ISO 14042:2000 Provides guidance for conducting the life cycle impact assessment phase of an LCA study | ISO/TR 14043:2000 Provides guidance for the interpretation of results from an LCA study | ISO/TS 14048:2002 Provides information regarding the formatting of data to support Efe cycle assessment | ISO/TR 14049:14047 Provide examples that illustrate how to apply the guidance in ISO 14041 and ISO 14042 |
| Addressing Environmental Aspects in Products Andproduct Standards | ISOGuide 64:1997 Helps the writers of product standards address environmental aspects in standards | ISO/TR 14062:2002 Provides concepts and current practices relating to integration of environmental aspects into product design and development | Understanding terms and definitons | ISO 14050:2002 Helps an organization to understand the terms used in the IS O 14000 series standards |
Environmental Management__________________________________________ 289
As given in the table above, there are many documents in the ISO 14000 series but for EMS certification, an applicant (industry) is audited only against IherequirementsofISO 14001.
AnorganizationwhichhasobtainedISO 14001 certificate means that it has voluntarily established the procedures and guidelines for EMS and an independent agency called a certifying body or third party, has audited the procedures and guidelines.Although obtained voluntarily, there are many benefits associated with ISO certificate. These benefits form the basis why industries are keen to obtain it. Some such benefits are as follows:
• Economic benefits resulting from the reduced cost of waste management and / or savings in consumption of energy or materials.
• Consumer recognition leading to strong market position and increased export competitiveness and facilitating trade.
• Improved image of the company amongst regulators, public and the customers.
• Also, the Government of India through Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank) provides grants upto 50% of the cost incurred in obtaining the EMS certificate to export oriented units.
As per ISO 14001 standards, an organization can self certify or get it certified from a certifying body. A number of certifying agencies, accredited from other countries, are operating in India. They are as follows:
(1) Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
(2) Det Norske (DNV)
(3) Korea Management Association Quality Assurance (KMAQA)
(4) Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA)
(5) International Certifications Limited (ICL)
(6) Bureau Veritas Quality international (BVQI)
(7) TUV India Pvt. Ltd.
(8) AJAEQS Certification Service Pvt. Ltd.
(9) Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification (STQC)
Besides ISO 14001, there are two more EMSs. The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is operating in European Union since 1993 and BS 7750 has been operating in UK since 1992. BS 7750 has been withdrawn after the introduction of ISO 14001 since ISO 14001 has been based on BS 7750. However, EMAS has much more stringent conditions to be met before getting the certification.
Since ISO 14001 does not offer the regulatory compliance, the ISO 14001 Plus is being introduced which merges regulatory compliance and public disclosure along with ISO 14001 certification.
14.6
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