Environmental Progress - Winter 2000

ISO 14001 Marks a Complex Route Toward Simplicity

Do environmental management systems benefit companies that have them?

Do companies that have environmental management systems perform better than those without such systems? At this time, no one can demonstrate conclusively that they do, but a lot of people and groups are working to provide that documentation. One tool is an effort by 10 states including Illinois to compile and evaluate information on such systems within their own states. The specific task in hand is to examine the public policy implications of environmental management systems, particularly those based on ISO 14001.

Based on a Greek word for “equal,” ISO works toward international standardization

Key to the effort is the ISO concept--one of those terms that many use but few can define succinctly. Spinning off from the International Organization for Standardization, based in Geneva, Switzerland, ISO is not an acronym but a word--a variant of the Greek word “isos” that means equal. The International Organization for Standardization is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies in 112 countries working together with the goal of facilitating trade exchange and technology transfer through standardization. An easily understood if not very major case in point: your credit card or phone card is always an optimal 0.76 millimeter in thickness. Because it is, you can use it anywhere in the world. ISO has promulgated more than 8,000 internationally accepted standards for everything from paper sizes to film speeds.

The ISO classification can be followed by a variety of numbers, each standing for a particular area. ISO 14001 identifies the specific contents of an environmental management system.

The vehicle for the 10 state effort is the Multi-State Working Group on Environmental Management Systems, an organization of federal and state environmental agencies, non-government organizations, industry representatives and academics. Their task: to examine the public policy implications of environmental management systems, particularly those based on ISO 14001.

If it can be shown that environmental management systems significantly benefit the companies using them, “the follow up question is whether such companies should be treated differently by regulatory agencies,” says Peter Wise, associate director of the IEPA and vice-chair of the MSWG.

In February 1998, the Illinois EPA invited 50 companies in the state to a presention on the MSWG and the Agency’s Regulatory Innovation Pilot Project. “We were asking companies to voluntarily share information on their environmental programs and how they designed them,” says Wise. “We ended up with participation by some of the best environmental performers in Illinois. Many of the companies have received recognition for their environmental programs not only from our Agency but have earned the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Award, recognition from U.S. EPA and other organizations.”

The information collected by Illinois and its nine partner states will be sent to a national database developed and maintained by the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Companies and organizations taking part in the project are being asked to establish a baseline year from which they will track their performance over time. The database eventually will be available to researchers conducting research on ISO 14001 and environmental management systems.