Setting a Green Standard with ISO 14001

We all know that time is running out to take action on the environment which is why it's so important that more companies recognise the business and social benefits of developing a green strategy.

For most companies, achieving ISO 14001 certification takes approximately three months (or twelve weeks). But what does it mean in reality?

In practical terms, applying ISO 14001 to your business ops model takes in everything from switching off the lights at the weekend to recycling ink cartridges to developing robust waste management strategies.

ISO 14001 can result in multiple benefits from enhance market and customer reputation to significantly reduced costs and increased efficiencies, not to mention the positive environmental impact. So why are so many Irish businesses still dragging their heels when it comes to implementing an EMS?

The fact remains that many business managers see protocols and standards as an incurring unnecessary costs and introducing operational hindrances. However, it has been widely accepted by industry experts that SMEs are ideally suited to seamless adoption of environmental standards primarily because their is such a small cohort in terms of buy in, training, and roll out.

Setting green standards helps generate environmental awareness, promote green responsibilities such as recycling and reduced usage of materials such as plastic, and change behaviours that can then be passed on outside of the workplace to family and friends. Environmental standards help change business and community cultures.