ISO 14001 certification: benefits, costs and expectations for organization

Abstract

Abstract:In the globalized market, the certification of Environmental Management Systems (EMS), according to ISO 14001 standard, introduced about 20 years ago and reviewed in 2015, is becoming increasingly strategic.In the last decade, the implementation of the EMSs was widely "metabolized" by organizations, because in this certification scheme, the decision maker recognizes, in the face of significant economic and organizational efforts, the opportunity to enjoy significant benefits from a variety of critical success factors. In fact, all over the world, the number of certified organizations has grown steadily.However, many organizations still tend to use the tool just because they are interested in grasping some "opportunities" (simplifications in permits, financial and banking incentives). Therefore, in some cases, there is a high risk that the certification may have the sole aim of improving the company's image, so-called "Green washing, " while in other cases, the many changes required for the proper implementation of the certification create the belief that such a system is "much paper work and few benefits".In this work, we present the results of a survey of organizations certified with ISO 14001:2004 in the province of Foggia (Italy) in order to: -deepen the elements for organizations represent the "utility" and "difficulties" in the implementation of the EMS; -assess the level of ability of organizations to quantify both the "costs" incurred to achieve and maintain the EMS and the economic "benefits", organizational and environmental generated from its implementation, and the related time to achieve them; -understand the future prospects of the organizations in relation to the commitment to continue to bring additional tools for the continuous improvement of environmental performance. CERTYFIKACJA ISO 14001: KORZYŚCI, KOSZTY I OCZEKIWANIA ORGANIZACJIStreszczenie: Na zglobalizowanym rynku certyfikacja systemów zarządzania śro-dowiskowego na zgodność z wymaganiami normy ISO 14001, wprowadzona około 20 lat temu i znowelizowana w 2015 r., staje się elementem strategicznym organizacji. W ostatniej dekadzie wdrożony SZŚ był powszechnie "metabolizowany" przez organizacje, ponieważ w tym schemacie certyfikacji to decydent, w obliczu znacznych wysiłków ekonomicznych i organizacyjnych, może osiągnąć duże korzyści wynikające z uwzględniania krytycznych czynników sukcesu. W rzeczywistości na całym świecie liczba certyfikatów ISO 14001 stale rośnie. Jednak wiele organizacji nadal wykorzystuje to narzędzie tylko dlatego, że jest zainteresowane osiągnięciem nielicznych korzyści (uproszczenie dokumentacji, zachęty finansowe, bankowe). Dlatego też w niektórych przypadkach istnieje duże ryzyko, że certyfikat ISO 14001 może służyć tylko poprawie wizerunku firmy, tzw. "greenwashing", podczas gdy w innych przypadkach wiele zmian wymaganych dla odpowiedniego wdrożenia i certyfikacji SZŚ może stwarzać wrażenie, że jest to system przynoszący "dużo papierkowej pracy i niewiele korzyści". W niniejszym artykule przedstawiono wyn...

Sustainable Environmental Management System Integration and Business Performance: A Balance Assessment Approach Using Fuzzy Logic

“…Some opinions consider that EMS integration increase the costs of the companies and do not determine a high performance [67]. Others consider that EMS integration determines real benefits at the organizational level, at the level of environmental performance, efficiency, and profitability [84].…”

“…Link and Naveh [61] noted that "in practice, however, studies have been unable to definitively show that ISO 14001 either leads or does not lead to improvements in environmental and business performance" [75,[80][81][82][83]. However, Pesce and his collaborators [29] citing the literature mentioned that "studies point out that ISO 14001 brings three types of benefits: environmental performance, efficiency and profitability" [84].…”

Factors for succeeding in ISO 14001 implementation in Italian construction industry

“…Sambasivan and Fei () analysed critical success factors for implementing ISO 14001 in Malaysia; they concluded that a general lack of environmental skills could affect the success of an implementation. These skills can be linked to activities such as identifying environmental impacts and aspects, auditing, and measuring environmental performance (Di Noia & Nicoletti, ; Nawrocka, Brorson, & Lindhqvist, ; Ozusaglam, Robin, & Wong, ; Russo, ). On this note, Boiral () argued that to achieve ISO 14001 certification, many companies must take on specialised environmental consultants and technicians.…”

SWOT Analysis of the Application of International Standard ISO 14001 in the Chinese Context. A Case Study of Guangdong Province

“…Studies indicate that the adoption of ISO 14001 does not always translate into environmental and financial benefits, and that a series of drawbacks that hinder potential gains can also be identified [10,[57][58][59][60]. Studies point out that ISO 14001 brings three types of benefits: environmental performance, efficiency and profitability [61]. However, Whitelaw [62] indicates that the main benefits are generally identified by firms as: gain of a "green image" resulting in gains in market shares; ability to attract new investors; reduction of insurance and prosecution risks; and reduction of costs.…”