The Benefits of Environmental Management

The ISO 14000 environmental management system was borne out of the BS EN ISO 9000 quality management system. After all 'environmental quality' is simply the search for products and processes which result in zero harmful emissions (the green equivalent of zero defects).

In considering environmental management in today's organisation, one should first explore the commercial advantages to be gained from such an initiative.

The benefits are widely regarded to be:

• Increased competitive advantage
• Cost savings - attributable to more efficient use of resource
• Heightened confidence in the organisation being able to meet new legislation
• Reduced likelihood of unforeseen environmental liability
• Increased environmental awareness by both the public and employees

It is however recognised that different companies and different industry sectors are likely to place differing levels of emphasis on each of the above benefits.