The ISO 140001:2004 Environmental M

The ISO 140001:2004 Environmental Management SystemThe ISO 140001:2004 standards require documentation of a firm’s environmental program. According to the International Organization for Standardization, the ISO 140001:2004 family addresses environmental management by specifying what the firm does to minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance. The documentation standards require participating companies to keep track of their raw materials use and their generation, treatment, and disposal of hazardous wastes. Although not specifying what each company is allowed to emit, the standards require companies to prepare a plan for ongoing improvement in their environmental performance. ISO 140001:2004 covers a number of areas, including the following:▪ Environmental Management System. Requires a plan to improve performance in resource use and pollutant output.To maintain their certification, companies must be inspected by outside, private auditors on a regular basis. Apart from large US based companies like Ford, General Motors, IBM, Honda of America, and Xerox, approximately 10,000 firms worldwide have registered for ISO 140001:2004.