ISO 14001: a prevention tool

More and more clients are requiring their contractors to be ISO 14001 certified or be able to provide a similar certificate or system, especially for tenders.
With such an environmental management system, you can secure certain compliance obligations. "But just the certificate doesn't say much," says Miralem Bajric, auditor at EBN Certification. According to him, the environmental management system must be supported by the entire organization.

EBN Certification is a relatively young certification body, but has gained a nice position in the market. "We are active in all kinds of industries and certify companies for VCA, VCU, the CO₂-Performance Ladder, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001," says Bajric. EBN stands for the right balance between knowledge and a personal, pragmatic approach. "With an ISO 14001 certificate, companies are assured of a sound environmental management system. The standard focuses on improving environmental performance, continuing to meet compliance obligations and achieving environmental objectives. This requires a continuous effort from companies to do a little better every day. The organization must monitor, measure, analyze, evaluate and improve its environmental performance wherever possible."

Intrinsic motivation

An environmental management system should not be a feast for the outside consultant or KAM coordinator, according to Bajric. "If only a limited number of people in the organization are involved, then you don't have a working system. The success of the system depends on involvement at all levels and in all functions of the organization, led by the management."

Management can effectively address risks and opportunities by integrating environmental management into the organization's business processes, strategic direction and decision-making, aligning it with other business priorities and incorporating environmental management into overall operations. "There can be all kinds of reasons it doesn't work, such as wanting a certificate on the wall too quickly. Forcing a system in a short period of time is not conducive to intrinsic motivation within the organization. It then does not live in an organization and often sticks to those few employees who are involved. As an organization, you have to watch out for that. Organizations should concentrate on implementing the environmental management system."

Setting context

The standard sets a number of minimum obligations. "Companies will first need to think about the context in which they operate," Bajric explains. "Make the link between your product or service with the requirements and demands from the market. Then determine your relationship with the stakeholders, such as your employees, customers, but also governments. What are their requirements for you as a company and for your product? Determine in what way you can meet them. And if you can't meet them, then you have a risk. So, room for improvement. Scheme manager SCCM has shared various tools and tips for implementing a working system."

EBN Certification's pragmatic approach helps companies improve environmental performance. "Organizations may conduct similar activities, however have different compliance obligations, environmental policies and performance goals yet all have to meet the requirements of the standard.

The standard is the guideline, but the road towards it is different for every company. It is precisely our pragmatic approach combined with high quality and competitive rates that is appreciated in the market," Bajric concludes.