Regulations and Industry Standards

A uniform standard, that determines whether a company has acted responsibly towards the
environment, has been rapidly incorporated into legislative landscape.It has become more
difficult for companies to make claims that they are running green businesses when their
activities do not meet the legal requirements.

Regulations, standards and policies that are developed either by the government, industry or
company will be able to help operational managers make the best decisions with regard to
product designs, manufacturing and disposal that meet the companys sustainability objectives.

All companies must comply with the laws and regulations made applicable to them. If the
companys products and operations fail to comply with the law and industry standards, the
company might be fined and their products may possibly not be purchased by the customers.In
addition, failure to comply with environmental laws could also be considered a criminal act. The
government and its enforcement agencies regularly conduct investigations against companies
and individuals that do not comply with the environmental laws, and a fine or jail sentence is
imposed on those found guilty. Through close and continuos monitoring, environmental crimes
can be reduced.

ISO 14000/14001

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and
represents a network of the national standards institutes for 147 countries. Its standards are
voluntarily, but widely, accepted worldwide.

Government agencies and private sectors in many countries have adopted ISO standards as
part of their regulatory framework. The ISO 14000 family is a series of environmental
management system standards. It concerns the extent to which a firm minimizes harmful effects
on the environment caused by its activities and continually monitors and improves its own
environmental performance.

ISO 14000 is a series of environmental management standards, which consists of five main
elements, namely:

1) Environmental Management
2) Environmental Auditing
3) Environmental Performance Evaluation
4) Ecological Labelling
5) Life Cycle Assessment
 Companies whose operations meet the said five elements can apply for the ISO 14000
certification. Four advantages of ISO 14000 to companies are:

1) It enhances the companys products and images and redusces potential liability.
2) It is a systematic method to pollution prevention by ensuring that the companys
activities and products do not inflict negative effects on the environment.
3) It ensures compliance with legal requirements and opportunities for competitive
advantage.
4) It reduces the need for multiple audits.

ISO 14000 standards have been implemented by thousands of organizations worldwide.

Companies that have obtained the ISO 14000 certification enjoy environmental and economic
benefits, such as the:

(a) Decreased materials or resources usage in their operations

(b) Reduced energy consumption
(c) Lowered distribution costs
(d) Improved company image
(e) Increased process efficiency
(f) Reduced wastes and disposal costs
(g) Enhanced or better usage of recoverable resources

ISO 14001 was issued in 1996 by the ISO, which addresses the need for the Environmental
Management System (EMS). It guides organizations on how to minimize harmful effects on the
environment. The achievement of the ISO 14001 standards certifies that a company has
conducted its business in an environmentally-friendly manner.

ISO 14001 standards requires the company to implement and maintain an efficient and effective
EMS. ISO 14001 standards is not a technical standard. Therefore, it does not replace any
technical requirements as contained in applicable laws and regulations. Among the main
requirements of the EMS under the ISO 14001 are:

1) Demonstrating a commitment to preventing pollution, continually improving

environmental performance and meeting all legal requirements and regulations.
2) Identifying all aspects of the organizations activities, products and services that could
have a major impact on the environment.
3) Setting performance objectives and targets for the management systems related to
pollution prevention, continuos improvement, and compliance.
4) Meeting the environmental objectives that include training workers, establishing work
orders and practices, and developing an appropriate metric to measure the achievement
of environmental objectives and targets.
5) Implementing the EMS audit operations periodically
6) Taking corrective actions in the event of deviations from the EMS.