The ISO 14000 series emerged primarily as a result of the Uruguay round of the GATT negotiations and the Rio Summit
on the Environment held in 1992. While GATT concentrates on the need to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade, the Rio
Summit generated a commitment to protection of the environment across the world. The environmental field has
seen a steady growth of national and regional standards.
The British Standards Institution has BS 7750, the Canadian Standards Association has environmental management,
auditing, eco-labeling and other standards, the European Union has all of these plus the eco-management and audit
requlations, and many other countries (e.g. USA, Germany and Japan) have introduced eco-labeling programs.
After the rapid acceptance of ISO 9000, and the increase of environmental standards around the world, ISO assessed
the need for international environmental management standards. They formed the Strategic Advisory Group on the
Environment (SAGE) in 1991, to consider whether such standards could serve to:
· Promote a common approach to environmental
· management similar to quality management
· Enhance organizations’ ability to attain and measure improvements in environmental performance; and
· Facilitate trade and remove trade barriers.
In 1992, SAGE’s recommendations created a new committee, TC 207, for international environmental management standards. The committee, and its subcommittees include representatives from industry, standards organizations, government and environmental organizations from many countries.
ISO 14004 and ISO 14001—were published in September and October 1996, respectively. The ISO 14000 family
consists of standards and guidelines relating to environmental management systems and supporting standards, terminology and specific tools, such as auditing.
Essentially, the standards are concerned with what an organization does to minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities: either during production or disposal, either by pollution or by depleting natural resources.
