Based on the Course Plan, our topic is focused on Implementation of ISO 140000.

The implementation process topic was posted to in LMS.

Answer the following:

1. How does ISO could be implemented in your company?

 Improving its ability to respond to regulatory compliance issues

 Reducing the overall costs of Environmental incidents and pollutions
 Reducing downtime and the costs of disruption to operations
 Reducing the cost of penalties for environmental offences
 Improving Environmental sustainability (depletion of pollution creation, waste generation, using
renewable and non-renewable resource)
 Recognition for having achieved an international benchmark

2. If you are the President of your company, how will you apply the implementation? Show the
steps and techniques that you will apply.

 Get commitment and support from senior management.

 Engage the whole business with good internal communication.
 Compare your existing quality systems with ISO 14001 requirements.
 Get customer and supplier feedback on current environmental management.
 Establish an implementation team to get the best results.
 Map out and share roles, responsibilities and timescales.
 Adapt the basic principles of environmental management to your business.
 Motivate staff involvement with training and incentives.
 Share ISO 14001 knowledge and encourage staff to train as internal auditors.
 Regularly review your ISO 14001 system to make sure you are continually improving it.
 3. What are the possible benefits that your company could get? Explain.

 Legal compliance
Getting ISO 14001 certified ensures you are keeping up to date with legal regulation. Fines and bad
press can devastate companies that don’t comply with regulations, so this ensures that you keep ahead
of the game.
 Increased reputation with consumers
More and more consumers are ‘going green’; with half of digital consumers saying environmental
concerns impact their purchasing decisions. Getting ISO 14001 certified displays to your customer that
you have an active commitment to reducing your environmental impact.
 Competitive advantage
With the above in mind, the ISO 14001 certification can help set you apart from competitors, or helps
you keep up if they are already certified. This also holds true if your organization is bidding for tender.
With more and more businesses getting ISO 14001 certified (11,201 certificates were issued in 2018 in
the United Kingdom alone), it’s important that your organization doesn’t fall behind.

 Reduce waste
The standard aims to reduce the amount of waste that organizations are producing. From the
unnecessary running of machinery to a lack of training causing excess materials to be left, the standard
aims to identify and mitigate all waste. By using more renewable energy sources and energy saving
processes your company becomes more efficient as a result.
 Reduce costs
Naturally an increase in efficiency will lead to reduced costs of running your business. The cost of waste
management should go down, just as the need for the processing and removal of waste will be lessened.
 Reduced insurance costs
Some companies might find that getting certified in ISO 14001 will reduce insurance premiums. The
certification proves your organization is performing strong due diligence in managing their
environmental impact, which means there is less chance of you being found liable of environmental
negligence.

4. How about the issues?

 Getting Started
The first major challenge in ISO 14001 implementation is to get started. Too often companies complain
that they are not ready to start, and they want everything to be perfect before they begin the
certification process. However, ISO implementation is considered an ongoing process which will never
be perfect. Organizations should also understand the return they want on their investment in ISO 14001.
 Setting Goals
Companies aiming for ISO 14001 certification set their own environmental targets. A company knows its
own capabilities and limitations best and should be able to set realistic goals. In theory this can allow
very conservative, easy-to-attain goals to be set simply for the sake of attaining certification. Given the
expense of ISO certification, companies should create realistic goals to maximize return on investment.
 Problem Solving
Most organizations find that once they understand their environmental issues and impacts,
implementing ISO 14001 is relatively simple. In some cases however, it can be significantly more
complex. Sometimes a detailed statistical analysis may need to be carried out, with the necessary
statistics being hard to record and more difficult to analyze.
  Applying Relevant Regulations
A successful ISO 14001 implementation usually requires more than just a list of acts of legislation. You
should also understand in plain English how each piece of legislation applies to each part of your
business, including sites, organizations and people. Legal registers such as Pegasus are available to help
achieve this for a fraction of the cost of legal advice.
 Self-Management
ISO 14001 implementation is self-managed, and its success mostly depends on the enthusiasm of the
organization’s management. Many ISO 14001 certification failures are due to the management’s lack of
awareness of the resources required. Managers may also set unrealistic, ultra-lenient goals to portray
their organization in a better light than is justified.
 Transparency
Ensuring the correct information is shared with all employees is another major challenge of ISO 14001
implementation. Frequently, information about the implementation process is not disseminated to the
levels required for the maximum return possible. Customers have also been known to make purchasing
decisions based on ISO 14001 certification, so they should also be informed.
 Integration to Lean Six Sigma
Surveys suggest that environmental teams and Lean Six Sigma teams cooperate more often than not.
Most organizations also admit a combined environmental management and Lean Six Sigma system
would be of value to them. However, Lean Six Sigma implementations significantly differ from ISO 14001
in using a wider array of tools and techniques. Despite this, “green” adaptions of Lean Six Sigma are
increasing in prevalence, including the “Lean Environmental Toolkit” offered by the US EPA.