ISO 14000

ISO 14000 exists to ensure a product has the lowest possible environmental impact.

ISO 14000 is similar to ISO 9000 in that both pertain to how a product is produced, rather than how it is designed. In contrast, ISO_216 describes sizes of paper which are very clearly laid out, and do not deviate. ISO 14000 and ISO 9000 are more general, referring to a process rather than any single product.

ISO 9000 is more in reference to making sure the product has been produced in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

It is important to note, as well: there is NO SUCH THING as an ISO certification! To clarify, the International Organizations of Standards does not issue certificates. They simply organize and issue standards and compliance codes. Many manufacturers and organizations tout being ISO certified. This is because there are plenty of third party organizations whose aim is typically to build consumer confidence by observing or advising production facilities on how to maintain conformity to ISO standards. ISO, as a body, does not issue certifications!

ISO 14000

The International Organizations of Standards wishes to make it clear: this is not the "Green" specification! It is however a set of standards by which an organization may gauge it's impact on the environment.

Very interested parties are encouraged to investigate the ISO 14000 web page or other sources, as the material included in this family of specifications is very broad, and cannot nor should not be entirely grasped here.

So we offer here a generalized encapsulation of the major parts of ISO 14000.

• ISO 14001 and ISO 14004 are the initial standards, which introduce the idea of Environmental Management Systems. An environmental management system makes possible a structured approach to setting environmental objectives and targets. Essentially, an organization may apply these broad conceptual tools to their own processes.

These two prime structures have been largely appended to and more or less super-ceded by the following:

• ISO 14040 discusses pre-production planning and environment goal setting.

• ISO 14062 discusses making improvements to environmental impact goals.

• ISO 14020 covers labels and declarations.

• ISO 14063 is something of an addendum to 14020, and talks about further communications on environmental impact.

• ISO 14030 discuesses post-production environmental assesment.

• ISO 14011 is sort of a section on meta-evaluation. essentially, 14011 regulates how to tell if your intended regulation tools worked.