ISO 14001

Environmental Management

in the Manchester area

Working from Greater Manchester Lynwood consult with organisations in Manchester and throughout the North West to help develop their ISO 14001 Environmental Management System so that it fits in with what they do while at the same time enabling them to comply with the ISO 14001 requirements.

The ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard is designed expressly to enable organisations to minimise and continually improve on their negative impacts on the environment and ensure compliance with the law and other requirements. ISO 14001, like other standards in the ISO family, pertains to the production processes rather than the finished product. It is structured to integrate seamlessly with other standards such as ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001.

This ISO 14001 environmental management standard is appropriate for all types and size of businesses in Manchester and the North West, and with ever-greater awareness and concern for environmental issues, more and more organisations are now insisting that their suppliers are ISO 14001 certified. Without this accreditation you will undoubtedly be excluded from competing for an increasing number of business opportunities. Among the other benefits your business will enjoy are: economies through waste reduction, the avoidance of penalties and fines, plus reduced costs through improved risk management. In addition, employee responsibilities will be clarified, customer confidence will be raised and by demonstrating an innovative and progressive outlook, your professional and public perception will be raised along with your perceived company profile.

Lynwood can advise and guide you along the route to attaining ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard certification by Accredited Registration Bodies and can also provide ISO 14001 Environmental Management Internal Auditor Training and Lead Auditor Training to help you manage your own Management Systems.

For an initial informal chat about ISO 14001 Environmental Management and free consultation regarding your opportunities, procedures, training and costs, please contact us or visit us at our centre in Dukinfield in Tameside, near Manchester.

ISO 14001 History
In 1992 the BSi Group developed the first environmental management system, BS 7750, which provided the basic framework for the development of ISO 14001 in 1996. ISO 14001 is currently used by over 200,000 organisations in over 150 countries around the world.
ISO 14001 is one of 16 standards within the ISO 14000 family of standards, which is intended to promote more effective and efficient environmental management as well as providing useful tools such as ISO 14004, a guide to developing a good environmental management system (EMS). ISO 14001 is not a management system; it is a standard that helps organisations to develop their own environmental management system.

ISO 14001 Advantages
Society is increasingly concerned with the negative impact that we are having on our environment. Apart from the debatable long term effects that we are having on our planet there are undeniable impacts on our daily lives. Many of our work processes result in unwanted noise, unpleasant or harmful fumes, smoke, smog and inappropriately disposed of waste. The effective implementation of an ISO 14001 system can help your organisation in minimising its negative contribution to these problems and thereby improving your public perception and the way in which your potential customers perceive you.

Depending on your processes your organisation may need a license to operate from the local authorities. In some cases it is a requirement of these authorities that organisations utilise a certified environmental management system, such as ISO 14001, as a condition for the issue of the license to operate.

The flexibility of the ISO 14001 standard makes it as applicable to a micro business as it is to a large national or even multinational organisation.

There are many ways in which organisations can safe money by adopting an ISO 14001 system and numerous more through certification to it. Apart from the clear savings as a result of staying within the law and improving our reputation, application of the principles of the standard can help to identify cleaner ways of achieving our objectives. This often includes cleaner or reduced power consumption. It also helps in identifying more efficient equipment and machinery leading to increased production. Production improvements can also help to reduce waste and save on the cost of raw materials.

The cost of getting it wrong in terms of the environment can be very costly, both for society and for your organisation. One environmental disaster can easily cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to put right. Add to this the cost of fines and legal costs and the impact may not be disastrous just for the environment but for your organisation too. It is much more cost effective to plan for an environmental disaster rather than dealing with the aftermath. ISO 14001 will help in setting up your disaster plans.

Some organisations are looking for assurances that their suppliers are not going to fail to deliver or are not going to bring them into disrepute. Contracting holders of ISO 14001 certification gives them the assurances that they are looking for. Those who do not have an EMS may be excluded from the procurement process.

ISO 14001 Pitfalls
Problems encountered with the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard are similar to those encountered with other international management standards.

It is often criticised for being expensive and time consuming to implement and manage a system based on the ISO 14001 standard, which is sometimes true. If utilised effectively your environmental management system should save you both time and money.

Sometimes external pressures from customers force organisations into gaining certification to ISO 14001 for the sake of the certificate. When this happens the certified organisation gains an expensive piece of paper and because none of the principles of the standard are adopted, the benefits go unrealised. If you are considering the adoption of ISO 14001 in your organisation but find that it is too expensive to develop a bespoke system and to gain certification from a creditable certification body, such as those accredited by UKAS, then you would be best advised to implement the standard without certification. At least in this way you will realise most of its benefits.

The Cost of Implementing ISO 14001
There are many variables that would affect the cost of implementing your ISO 14001 based environmental management system. Some organisations prefer to employ Lynwood in a purely consultative role, where managers internal to the organisation have sufficient knowledge of the standard to act upon the advice given. Some organisations want us to take on a more involved role where our consultants act as a member of their internal team helping to build the tools that they need to realise all of the advantages of ISO 14001 and some organisations are position somewhere between the two.

Depending on the size of your organisation and the workload of your employees it may be more cost effective to train your own staff to undertake your internal audits. Through the provision of training and mentoring we can help to develop your own workforce to undertake audits and even manage your audit processes.

The decision on certification and selection of certification body has a significant impact on costs too. The good news is that Lynwood provides a FREE initial consultation in order to ascertain your needs and expectations. We can then provide you with an accurate quote and you can make an informed decision. So, if you are thinking about implementing ISO 14001 why not give us a call to arrange your consultation, after all it won’t cost you anything.