IS0 14000 - Emerging International Environmental Standards, 1995 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Dennis Sasseville

Environmental Science and Engineering, Inc.

During the past few years, many U.S. companies have rushed to qualify for IS0 9000, the international certification for quality management systems. Although conforming to these standards is strictly voluntary, they have become a de facto condition for doing business in much of the world. In 1993, the International Organization for Standardization formed Technical Committee 207 with the goal of establishing standards for environmental management, The resulting new standard will be called IS0 14000 when it is issued, probably in 1996. The standard will call for corporate commitments to environmental excellence beyond national or regional regulatory boundaries. Like IS0 9000, the new standards will also be voluntary but are expected to become a de facto requirement of U. S. companies wishing to participate in global trade. The panel is composed of individuals in the paper and forest products industry directly participating in the IS0 14000 process through the TC 207 committees. They represent a knowledge base in the IS0 issues of environmental management systems, environmental auditing, environmental labeling, life cycle analysis, and performance evaluation standards. They will share their knowledge and first-hand perspectives of the IS0 process and explain the probable impacts on U.S. companies and the environmental managers of those companies...