ISO has published a new, updated brochure providing a basic introduction, as its title indicates, to Environmental management – The ISO 14000 family of International Standards.
The 12-page, colour brochure is the latest edition of a successful publication first released in 1998, two years after the launching of the first standards in the ISO 14000 family. Since then, the ISO 14000 standards have achieved a worldwide impact and the brochure gives a concise idea of how the family has evolved to provide comprehensive solutions to the range of environmental challenges facing business, government and society today.
The brochure was authored by experts from ISO technical committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management, which is responsible for the the ISO 14000 family. They point out that the ISO 14000 standards not only provide environmental benefits, but also significant tangible economic benefits, including the following:
■Reduced raw material/resource use
■Reduced energy consumption
■Improved process efficiency
■Reduced waste generation and disposal costs
■Utilization of recoverable resources.
The brochure includes an overview of the standards making up the ISO 14000 family. The best known standard is ISO 14001:2004. By end of December 2008, the standard was being used by organizations in 155 countries as a framework for environmental management systems (EMS) to manage better the impact of their activities on the environment and to demonstrate sound environmental management. Other published standards, which can be used independently or in combination with ISO 14001 and with each other, address the following topics:
■Environmental performance
■Environmental labels and declarations
■Life-cycle assessment
■Greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, verification and accreditation
■Environmental communication
■Environmental aspects in product standards.
Further documents now under development provide tools for the following activities:
■Eco-efficiency assessment
■Material flow cost accounting
■Carbon footprint of products (and its calculation)
■Phased implementation of an EMS
■Eco-design
■Quantitative environmental evaluation
■Competence requirements for GHG validators and verifiers.
The ISO 14000 family is designed to be implemented according to the same Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle underlying all ISO management systems standards. A table in the brochure classifies the ISO 14000 standards according their optimal place in the PDCA cycle. Other sections cover the following aspects:
■ISO's overall contribution to the environment, which goes beyond the work ISO/TC 207
■Environmental management and sustainability
■An introduction to ISO/TC 207, including its origins and the global participation in its work.Because the work of ISO/TC 207 is constantly evolving, the committee's section on the ISO Web site should be consulted for the latest information on its work programme and membership. However, the new edition of the ISO 14000 brochure answers a need for a basic, but comprehensive introduction for distribution at conferences, or requested by potential users of the standards, and by students.
Environmental management – The ISO 14000 family of International Standards, which is published in English and French paper editions, is available free of charge (fee for postage and handling of bulk orders) from the ISO Central Secretariat through the ISO Store or by contacting the Marketing, Communication & Information department (see right-hand column). It can also be obtained from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details). The brochure is also available as a PDF file on the ISO Web site.
The ISO14000 family 2009
Island Hopping......
Today I was interested by the plight of Christmas Island. Being environmentally inclined i automattically looked for thier environmental issues etc. This lead me to some other equally interesting islands! Below are some of the islands I reseached.
Christmas Island
Banaba Island
Christmas Island
Banaba Island
Green Pages
One of my personal favorite sites and endless (well....to its limitations) source of information.
You can find info/news/blogs etc from almost any country in the world!
ECO WEB! - Green Pages
You can find info/news/blogs etc from almost any country in the world!
ECO WEB! - Green Pages
What does Environmental Management Consist of?
Question Posed By Nadia Storm; Johannesburg; South Africa
Environmental management is not, as the phrase could suggest, the management of the environment as such, but rather the management of interaction by the modern human societies with, and impact upon the environment. The three main issues that affect managers are those involving politics (networking), programs (projects), and resources (money, facilities, etc.). The need for environmental management can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. A more common philosophy and impetus behind environmental management is the concept of carrying capacity. Simply put, carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of organisms a particular resource can sustain. The concept of carrying capacity, whilst understood by many cultures over history, has its roots in Malthusian theory. Environmental management is therefore not the conservation of the environment solely for the environment's sake, but rather the conservation of the environment for humankind's sake.
Environmental management involves the management of all components of the bio-physical environment, both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic). This is due to the interconnected and network of relationships amongst all living species and their habitats. The environment also involves the relationships of the human environment, such as the social, cultural and economic environment with the bio-physical environment.
As with all management functions, effective management tools, standards and systems are required. An 'environmental management standard or system or protocol attempts to reduce environmental impact as measured by some objective criteria. The ISO 14001 standard is the most widely used standard for environmental risk management and is closely aligned to the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). As a common auditing standard, the ISO 19011 standard explains how to combine this with quality management.
It really is a little bit of everything. I enjoy EVERY moment and Love every aspect. You need to know something and a lot about so many different fields. Legislation; Climate; Management; Logistics; Chemicals; Microbiology; Biochemistry; Human Nature; Public Particiaption. You need to be good at maths. It brings in elements of statistics; and one minute you are spending 5 days straight writing a report and the nest week you are flying off to some country whos name you cant even pronounce to make sure they arent contaminating the water. You get to deal with farmers and get your boots muddy then wash up and walk into an executive meeting where you need to tell someone how NOT to loose millions of dollars while saving the environment.
I really love my career and I WOULD NEVER trade it for anything. I would only develop it.
Environmental management is not, as the phrase could suggest, the management of the environment as such, but rather the management of interaction by the modern human societies with, and impact upon the environment. The three main issues that affect managers are those involving politics (networking), programs (projects), and resources (money, facilities, etc.). The need for environmental management can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. A more common philosophy and impetus behind environmental management is the concept of carrying capacity. Simply put, carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of organisms a particular resource can sustain. The concept of carrying capacity, whilst understood by many cultures over history, has its roots in Malthusian theory. Environmental management is therefore not the conservation of the environment solely for the environment's sake, but rather the conservation of the environment for humankind's sake.
Environmental management involves the management of all components of the bio-physical environment, both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic). This is due to the interconnected and network of relationships amongst all living species and their habitats. The environment also involves the relationships of the human environment, such as the social, cultural and economic environment with the bio-physical environment.
As with all management functions, effective management tools, standards and systems are required. An 'environmental management standard or system or protocol attempts to reduce environmental impact as measured by some objective criteria. The ISO 14001 standard is the most widely used standard for environmental risk management and is closely aligned to the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). As a common auditing standard, the ISO 19011 standard explains how to combine this with quality management.
It really is a little bit of everything. I enjoy EVERY moment and Love every aspect. You need to know something and a lot about so many different fields. Legislation; Climate; Management; Logistics; Chemicals; Microbiology; Biochemistry; Human Nature; Public Particiaption. You need to be good at maths. It brings in elements of statistics; and one minute you are spending 5 days straight writing a report and the nest week you are flying off to some country whos name you cant even pronounce to make sure they arent contaminating the water. You get to deal with farmers and get your boots muddy then wash up and walk into an executive meeting where you need to tell someone how NOT to loose millions of dollars while saving the environment.
I really love my career and I WOULD NEVER trade it for anything. I would only develop it.
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