ISO 14001 is an internationally accepted standard that sets out how you can put in place an effective Environmental Management System (EMS).
The standard is designed to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements, and (c) continually improve on the above.
How do we set out to bring together the needs of a modern hi-tech society with the existing resources of the planet? This, in essence, is the goal of all the stakeholders in managing the environment in relation to an organisation.
Arriving at the current environmental standard has taken many forces both national and international, including legislation put in place by successive governments, environmental disasters such as the Exxon Valdez, an increase in the numbers of green pressure groups, and the rise in awareness of a whole gamut of society, who look at the well-being of a business not only in terms of its share performance, but also in terms of its environmental image.