Companies today are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that they do not pursue profit at the expense of the environment. The standard is designed to address the delicate balance between maintaining profitability and reducing environmental impact. We all have an impact on the environment, be it from releasing gases into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels to heat our offices and fuel our cars, to the depletion of natural resources such as from water use or paper consumption.

ISO 14001 is an internationally accepted standard that sets out a framework of essential elements for putting in an effective Environmental Management System. As a minimum it requires a company to have in place an environmental policy. Your environmental policy will state your commitment to compliance with legal and regulatory demands, continual improvement and the prevention of pollution. You should make this policy available to your customers and the public. It also helps you to identify aspects of your business that impact on the environment and understand those environmental laws that are relevant to your situation.

It's possible to take the implementation and certification of an EMS slowly by starting with the BS 8555 scheme allowing you to phase the management system in and assess how you're performing at each step on the path. BS 8555 is a good starting point for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) but is applicable to any organization, regardless of the nature of the business activity undertaken. It outlines an implementation process that can be undertaken in up to six separate phases and allows for phased acknowledgement of progress as you move towards full ISO 14001 certification.

Regardless of which approach you may take EcoHIP can assist you every step of the way.