FAQs

Q. What is ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 is the specific element of the ISO 14000 standard that organisations are certified to. The standard addresses the "environmental management" of an organisation. This means what an organisation does to minimise harmful effects on the environment, both through what they do and the continual improvements they employ to advance their environmental performance.

The ISO 14001 standard also ensures organisations comply with applicable laws and regulations in relation to the environment.

The standard shares much in common with ISO 9000 quality management standard, the two being the most popular of ISO's management standards. There are over a million organisations in 175 countries that have implemented these two standards. In 2009 there were over 10,000 organisations in the UK who were certified to ISO 14001.

The ISO 14000 series is similar to ISO 9000 in that both relate to the process rather than to the product itself. The intention is to establish an organised approach to systematically reduce the impact of the environmental aspects which an organisation can control.

ISO/TC 207, which is responsible for the ISO 14000 family, unites expertise from participating countries and a number of international and regional organisations, plus other technical committees.