United States Office of Research and Office of Pollution EPA/625/F-97/004
Environmental Protection Development Prevention and Toxics April 1998
Agency Washington, DC 20460 Washington, DC 20460
»EPA EPA Standards Network
Fact Sheet
ISO 14000:
International Environmental
Management Standards
Printed on Recycled Paper
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EPA Standards Network Fact Sheet
ISO 14000:
International Environmental
Management Standards
What Is ISO?
What are /SO's
Environmental
Management
Standards?
In recent years, there has been heightened international interest in and commitment to improved
environmental management practices by both the public and private sectors. This interest is reflected
in the success of collaborative international efforts to address environmental problems and in the
global recognition of trade-related environmental issues. The Montreal Protocol, the environmental
side agreements of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the mandates resulting from the
1992 Earth Summit of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de
Janeiro are some of the successes.
Another indication of the interest in improved environmental practices is the emergence of voluntary
environmental management standards developed by national standards bodies throughout the world.
To address the growing need for an international consensus approach, ISO, the International
Organization for Standardization, has undertaken the development of international voluntary
environmental management standards through ISO Technical Committee 207. ISO's 14000 series
Environmental Management Standards are expected to have a significant impact on trade in the same
way that the ISO 9000 series Quality Management Standards have.
The U.S. EPA has a long-standing interest in promoting improved environmental management
practices and is engaged both in the development of the ISO 14000 standards and in evaluating their
usefulness for environmental benefit.
ISO is a private sector, international standards body based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1947,
ISO promotes the international harmonization and development of manufacturing, product and
communications standards. ISO has promulgated more than 8,000 internationally accepted standards
for everything from paper sizes to film speeds. More than 120 countries belong to ISO as Participating
members, while several other countries serve as Observer members. The United States is a full voting,
Participating, member and is officially represented by the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI).
ISO produces internationally harmonized standards through a structure of Technical Committees
(TCs). The TCs usually subdivide into Subcommittees which are further subdivided into Working
Groups where the actual standards writing occurs. Figure 1 shows the structure for TC-207, which
is responsible for the ISO 14000 standards. All standards work is done by country member
volunteers.
ISO's Environmental Management Standards are a series of voluntary standards and guidelines which
include environmental management systems (EMS), eco-labeling, environmental auditing, life cycle
assessment, environmental performance evaluation, and environmental aspects in product standards.
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International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: 4 i-22-749-01 11
Fax: 41-22-733-3430
http://133.82.181.177/ikeda/ISO/home.html
Technical Committee (TC) 207: Environmental Management
Secretariat: Canada
Chair: Dr. Margeret Kerr
Secretary: Ahmad Husseini
Tel: 416-747-2697
Fax: 416-747-2473
Subcommitte 1:
Environmental
Management
Systems
Secretariat:
United Kingdom
British Standards
Institute
Subcommittee 2:
Environmental
Auditing and
Related
Environmental
Investigations
Secretariat:
the Netherlands
Netherlands
Normalistic Institute
Subcommittee 3:
Environmental
Labeling
Secretariat:
Australia
Standards Australia
WG1-Specification
WG2-General
Guidelines
Small and Medium
Sized Enterprises
Working Group
WG1-Auditing
Principles
WG2-Auditing
Procedures
WG3-Auditor
Qualifications
WG4-Other
Investigations
WG1-Guidng
Principles for
Practitioner Programs
WG2-Self-Oeclaration
Claims
WG3-Guiding
Principles for
Environmental
Labeling Programs
Working Group 1:
Environmental Aspects in Product
Standards
Convener: Germany
Deutsche Institute fur Normung
Subcommittee 4:
Environmental
Performance
Evaluation
Secretariat:
United States
American National
Standards Institute
Subcommittee 5:
Life-Cycle
Assessment
Secretariat:
France
Association
Francaise de
Normalisation
Subcommittee 6:
Terms and
Definitions
Secretariat:
Norway
Norges
Standardiseringsfor-
bund
WG1-Generic
Environmental
Performance
Evaluation
WG2-lndustry Sector
Environmental
Performance
Evaluation
WG1-LCA General Principles and
Procedures
WG2-Life-Cycle Inventory Analysis
(General)
WG3-Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
(Specific)
WG4-Life-Cyde Impact Assessment
WG5-Life-Cycle Improvement
Assessment
Working Group on Forestry
Chairman:
Ken Shirley
New Zealand Forest
Owner's Association
Figure 7. Structure of ISO Technical Committee 207.
What Is the ISO
Environmental
Management
Systems Standard?
The key document in the ISO 14000 series of standards is ISO 14001, which specifies "verifiable
core elements" required for an organization to receive ISO 14001 certification. This standard can
apply to a wide range of organizations including industrial and commercial corporations,
government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Among the verifiable core elements listed in
ISO 14001 are:
An environmental policy signed by senior management, including a commitment to
compliance, the prevention of pollution and continual improvement;
Objectives and targets developed by the organization for itselfbased on its assessment of its
"significant environmental aspects," its compliance requirements and its consideration of
stakeholder interests;
Implementation and control;
Performance monitoring and measurement, and senior management review.
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The ISO 14001 standard establishes management systems requirements rather than performance
objectives. The latter are set by the organization for itself.
EMS helps an organization to establish and meet its own policy goals through objectives and targets,
organizational structures and accountability, management controls and review functions, all with top
management oversight. A companion document to ISO 14001, ISO 14004, provides optional
guidance to organizations on the development of environmental management systems.
What are the Other
ISO 14000
Standards About?
The ISO 14001 standard is the only one in the 14000 series that is written to be auditable. All the
other standards are guidance or guide documents. Similar to ISO 14004, the ISO guidance
standards for environmental auditing and environmental performance evaluation are intended both
to stand as helpful documents on their own and also to help implement a system based on 14001.
In addition, the other ISO 14000 guidance standards address environmental auditing,
environmental labeling, life cycle assessment and environmental performance evaluation (see
Figure 1). The environmental performance of product standards has been published as an ISO
Guide, not a standard. A separate document on "terms and definitions" is designed to ensure that
terms are used consistently across all the ISO 14000 series documents.
The environmental labeling and life cycle assessment documents lay out frameworks. As with the
1400 1 document, the labeling standards focus on principles for labeling, but do not specify
product performance or environmental requirements. The labeling standards also characterize
types of programs — third party, self-declaration, seal, etc. — but do not compare the operations or
benefits among such programs.
The life cycle assessment standards address the principles and framework for inventory and
assessment practices. The standards do not prescribe specific methods or practices.
The environmental performance evaluation (EPE) standard, ISO 1403 1, provides organizations
with guidance on a process for determining their environmental performance. Collecting EPE
information can help an organization's EMS by providing management with information for
setting environmental baselines, objectives and targets, and tracking progress over time.
How Does ISO
74000 Relate to
TC-207?
ISO assigns a document numbering system to each Technical Committee. Standards produced by
TC-207 are assigned the 14000 designation. For example, the Environmental Management System
(EMS) Specification document is ISO 14001. The EMS Guidance Standard is ISO 14004. Figure 2
lists each of the standards and documents in the 14000 series.
Who From the U.S.
May Participate?
The process is completely open and any interested party may participate. Industry, government, small
and medium sized businesses, academia and environmental groups currently make up the U.S.
Technical Advisory Group (TAG) membership. Environmental groups and small and medium sized
businesses are particularly encouraged to become more involved. Individuals interested in becoming
part of the U.S. TAG should contact ASTM at 610-832-972 1. Figure 3 shows the structure of the
U.S. TAG and provides the names and phone numbers of the U.S. SubTAG chairs.
What Is The EPA
Standards
Network?
The EPA Standards Network is the means by which the Agency participates, with full voting
membership, in the U.S. TAG to TC-207. Through the Network, the official EPA representatives to
the U.S. TAG disseminate information throughout the Agency and coordinate EPA comments on the
documents in development. The Network develops and coordinates draft policies for the Agency in
the implementation of ISO 14000 standards.
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Figure 2. Standards in the ISO 14000 Series
ISO 1400 I
ISO 14004
ISO 14010
ISO 1401 1/1
ISO 14012
ISO 14015
ISO 14020
ISO 14021
ISO 14022
ISO 14023
ISO 14024
ISO 14025
ISO 14031
ISO 14040
ISO 14041
ISO 14042
I ISO 14043
ISO 14050
ISO Guide 64
* Environmental Management Systems — Specifications with Guidance for Use
* Environmental Management Systems — General Guidelines on Principles, Systems,
and Supporting Techniques
* Guidelines for Environmental Auditing-General Principles on Environmental
Auditing,
* Guidelines for Environmental Auditing-Audit Procedures-Audit of Environmental
Management Systems
* Guidelines for Environmental Auditing-Qualification Criteria for Environmental
Auditors
Environmental Site Assessments
Goals and Principles of All Environmental Labeling
Environmental Labels and Declarations-Self Declaration Environmental
Claims-Terms and Definitions
Environmental Labels and Declarations-Self Declaration Environmental
Claims-Symbols
Environmental Labels and Declarations-Self Declaration Environmental
Claims- Testing and Verification
Environmental Labels and Declarations-Environmental Labeling Type I-Guiding
Principles and Procedures
Environmental Labels and Declarations-Environrrental Information Profiles-Type
III Guiding Principles and Procedures
Evaluation of Environmental Performance
Environmental Management-Life Cycle Analysis — Principles and Framework
Environmental Management-Life Cycle Analysis-Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
Environmental Management-Life Cycle Analysis-Impact Assessment
Environmental Management-Life Cycle Analysis-Interpretation
Terms and Definitions- Guide on the Principles for ISO/TC 207/SC6 Terminology
Work
* Guide for Inclusion of Environmental Aspects in Product Standards
* Completed and
Published
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How Can I Contact U.S.
TAG Representatives?
Figure 3. US. Technical Advisory Group to ISO TC-207
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 212-642-4900
US TAG to ISO/TC 207
Chair: Joe Cascio 703-750-6401 Vice-
jcascio@gnet.org Chair:
Mary McKiel 202-260-3584
mckiel.mary@epamail.epa.gov
ST1 — Environmental Management Systems
Chair: Joel Charm 20 1-455-4057 EPA Rep:
joel.charm@alliedsignal.com
Jim Home 202-260-5802
home.j ames@epamail.epa. gov
ST2 — Environmental Auditing
Chair: Cornelius (Bud) Smith EPA Rep:
203-778-6114
203-778-6487 Fax
Cheryl Wasserman 202-260-8797
wasserman.cheryl@epamail.epa.gov
ST3 — Environmental Labeling
Chair: Jim Connaughton 202-736-8364 EPA Rep:
jconnaugh@sidley.com
Julie Winters 202-260-4000
winters.julie@epamail.epa.gov
ST4 — Environmental Performance Evaluation
Chair: John Master 610-359-4810 EPA Rep:
6 1 0-359-4862 Fax
John Harman 202-260-6395
harman.john@epamail.epa.gov
ST5 — Life Cycle Assessment
Chair: James Fava 610-701-3636 EPA Rep:
favaj@wcpost2.rfweston.com
Mary Ann Cm-ran 513-569-7837
curran.maryann@epamail.epa.gov
ST6 — Terms and Definitions
Chair: Christopher Bell 202-736-8 118 EPA Rep:
cbell@sidley . com
Mary McKiel 202-260-3 5 84
mckiel.mary@epamail.epa.gov
SW&Environmental Aspects in Product Standards
Chair: Stanley Rhodes 510-832-1415 EPA Rep:
John Shoaff 202-260-1 83 1
shoaff.john@epamail.epa.gov
How Can I Join the
U.S. TAG?
Where Can I Get
More Information?
For information on joining the U. S. TAG, contact ASTM at 6 1 O-832-972 1.
For more information about ISO 14000, contact:
Steve Cornish
American National
Standards Institute
(ANSI)
11 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Tel: 212-642-4969
Fax: 212-398-0023
scornish@ansi. org
www.ansi.org
Kathie Morgan
American Society for Testing
and Materials (ASTM)
100 Barr Harbor Dnve
W.Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959
Tel: 610-832-9721
Fax: 61 O-832-9266
kmorgan@loca.astm.org
www.astm.org
Mary C. McKiel
EPA Standards Network
OPPT-7409
401 M Street SW
Washington, DC 20460
Tel: 202-260-3584
Fax: 202-260-0178
mckiel.mary@epamail.epa.gov
es. epa. gov/partners/iso/iso .html
•&U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1998 -450-001/80184
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Environmental Protection Agency
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
Cincinnati, OH 45268
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