ISO 14001 Environmental Management System - 'Looking after your business reputation and the environment'
Are regulators asking you to put environmental controls in place? Or would you like to highlight your green credentials to customers? If so, an ISO 14001 environmental management system might be the best solution for you.
Some facts about the environment:
- The release of CO2 from burning fossil fuels is having an effect on our climate, causing species extinction and crop failure.
- Landfill space is running out. 893,000 plastic carrier bags are used in the UK each hour.
- 65 kilograms of waste recycled/composted per person in the UK each year.
- Extinction of species is at a much higher rate than normal due to human activities.
- It only takes one litre of oil to pollute one million litres of drinking water.
- 4.5 million tonnes of hazardous waste is generated by the UK each year.
How environmental impacts affect your business
Can you imagine if resources started to run out because we have not practiced sustainable, where climate change severely effects how we can live and where there is only a handful of species left?
We as business people do not usually think about such issues, but the public and governments do. We know this because of the long list of environmental regulations created by government and the purchasing patterns of consumers.
The problem
Legal compliance. There is a long list of environmental laws and regulations. How can you ensure your business is meeting current legal controls and is kept up-to-date with future laws?
Marketing Green Credentials. How can your business take advantage of green consumer patterns or fulfil requests for an ISO 14001 in public sector tenders?
Resource Consumption. Are you using more oil, water and electricity than your competitor? What carbon savings can be made? Could the Carbon Trust help you invest in making savings?
Neighbours and Regulators. Noise, dust, smoke, fumes, odorous emissions - neighbours complaining to your planning department can impact on future business plans for growth.
Prevent Pollution and Negative Publicity. Causing fish-kills in the local river is costly and bad for business. Would your staff be able to contain and prevent such pollution?
Recycling of Materials. How do you ensure the effective segregation, reuse or recycling of waste? Wouldn't you prefer to be paid for paper rather than paying for it to be sent to landfill?
The Solution
The solution is the installation of a simple but effective ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. The 14001 will ensure ongoing legal compliance, work to prevent pollution and reduce resource consumption.
Plus, the ISO 14001 certificate could get the regulators and disgruntled neighbours off your back and give you access to those extra markets and tenders that demand environmental credentials.
Certification to ISO 14001 is easy when you keep it simple and reduce the paperwork (the 14001 doesn't require lots of paperwork - making actual environmental improvements like recycling packaging or adopting an energy saving programme is more important).
I understand that as a business you need to make a living in order to pay wages and bills, and that in these difficult times you will be working flat out to do so. Therefore, the question will probably arise: can I really afford the time and money required for environmental accreditation?
Savings made with ISO 14001 Management Systems
As you can see from the environmental facts at the top of this page, 65 kg of waste is recycled or composted per person per year in the UK. This is a significant saving achieved through environmental management. Savings through ISO 14001 are normally made in the range of 10-15% of resource consumption. In this way, most ISO 14001 environmental management systems pay for themselves within one-two years.
Examples from real companies of savings achieved with environmental management:
| Jamison Group | Save £35,000 by improving recycling. |
| Arnold Control Systems Ltd. | Save €10,000 in energy efficiency. |
| Design to Distribution Ltd. | £37,000 saving by eliminating packaging & waste. |
| Pilkington's Tiles | Save £30,000 by minimising waste, in just 3 months. |
| Lever Brothers Ltd. | Saving of £30,000/year by waste minimisation. |
| RCM Products Ltd. | Savings of £22,000/year in reduced raw materials cost by eliminating the use of 1,1,1-trichloroethane from the degreasing stage of its painting process. |
| Dunlop Ltd. | Reduced waste from 15% to as low as 5% by rescheduling production to dovetail runs using the same type of rubber. |
Our Rock Solid Guarantees
Guarantee One
We will make your management system as user-friendly as possible by minimising paperwork and through the use of straightforward, precise language. We are not saying we will make the ISO fun, but we will make it a positive experience that will benefit your business.
George Macdonald,
Owner of KE ISO Consultancy
Guarantee Two
If for any reason your company does not achieve the ISO certificate we will not charge you.
George Macdonald,
Owner of KE ISO Consultancy
We can make such guarantees as we have a 100% customer achievement rate regarding ISO 14001, third party certification.
Next Step
Get in touch with an email to info@keisoconsultancy.com or telephone (028) 7133 7700 or by clicking on the 'Contact Us' menu link.
Who We Are
Established in 1999, KE ISO Consultancy is a management consultancy specialising in installing management systems were external certification is required.
KE ISO Consultancy has helped companies both large and small to achieve internationally recognised certificates in quality, environmental, health and safety management in Northern Ireland and the border counties. KE ISO Consultancy staff are committed to providing a great consultancy service. We provide a professional and friendly consultancy service, which delivers real business benefits.