Implementation of the ISO 14001
By:
Department of
Political Science
University of
Idaho, Moscow Campus
Submitted to:
Associate
Professors of Environmental S cience
University of
Idaho
Environmental
Science 428: Pollution Prevention
February 14, 2003
The ISO 14001 standard is a voluntary international standard that is used by an increasing number of U.S. companies to incorporate environmental aspects into their business plans. The market has been a major motivation factor behind the environmental management system (EMS) due primarily to changing consumer philosophies on environmental responsibility and stewardship. Since June 2002, there were only 2,040 U.S. companies that were International Standard Organization (ISO) certified companies compared to the 40,970 worldwide. This certification is seen as both prestigious and valuable for the company economically which has led to some cases where companies have pursued paper certification for legitimacy; however, have done little to implement the policy in actual practice. This study will analyze the Bayer Pharmaceuticals Berkeley, California site which is the only one certified in the United States to determine what factors prevented the company from initial certification in 1999.
The ISO 14001 standard is often referred to as the “green” standard because it sets forth specific requirements for a comprehensive EMS. Formally promulgated in 1996, the standard was developed to allow organizations to develop policies and goals within a structured managerial framework (Thornton, 2003). The ISO 14001 is a specific standard that is based on Total Quality management (TQM) business concepts of continuous improvement, or the plan do check cycle where a procedure is developed, implemented, and then improved upon if required (Goodshall, 2000). For the most part U.S. companies have been slow to adopt the standard and have been highly critical of its value. Proctor and Gamble has been very vocal about its opposition to 14001 and has stated it did not want to have anything to do with its policies (Business and the Environment, 1997; Goodshall, 2000). Many U.S. industries have taken a wait and see approach that has slowed the widespread national implementation of the policy.
The components of the policy consists of the following components:
1. Definition of the company’s environmental policy
2. Planning, identifying environmental aspects and meeting legal objectives, developing company policy and objectives, determining areas of efficiency within the company, establishing the EMS, and developing the criteria to achieve objectives.
3. EMS implementation
4. Assessment (auditing) of the company’s conformity to the policy and coercive action in the case of non-conformity.
5. Management assessment period.
This process is initiated by looking at what the company has available, and what can be improved upon or made more efficient. In these initial stages of development a company should look at:
1. What chemicals it has that are listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) chemical substances inventory.
2. Listing of chemicals it has an outlined by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).
3. Reports prepared for hazards and operations studies.
4. Company protocol procedures (i.e. worst case scenario procedures, fire drills etc.)
5. Examination of Tier I and Tier II reports submitted under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA).
6. Contingency or vulnerability studies completed relative to critical systems and equipment.
7. Information gathered from risk management studies
8. Information obtained from corrective action reports, especially data from preventative maintenance programs and inspections
9. Maintenance records
From these procedures the local environment is examined to determine the ambient environmental levels of pollution from testing and historical data. The landscape’s topography is studied in relation to its use. A company’s proximity to watersheds and past practices is also taken into consideration (Thornton, 2003; MacArthur and Bellen, 1998). From these preliminary undertakings objectives and targets are set and measures are implemented for certification.
The criticism surrounding the policy is that it is often perceived as being nothing more than paperwork procedures where certification is nothing more than an exercise that does not result in improvements in environmental performance (Buchholz, 1999 and Morrison et al. 2000). It is believed that implementation based on these procedures undermine the implementation of the policy as a tool to achieve greater environmental responsibility and organizational efficiency.
The Bayer Corporation is a German based pharmaceutical company with facilities throughout the world. The Berkley, California site is located on 30 acres in the industrial section of Berkley’s west side. It has over 1,700 employees and regular contractors, and is the largest employer and the biggest facility in Berkley other than the University of California campus (Goodshall, 2000).
In 199 the corporation began seeking ISO 14001 certification with a series of audits between October 1999 and March 2000, which made it the first Bayer facility, certified under the standard in the United States. During an initial auditing phase the following areas of deficiency were identified (1) environmental policy, (2) development of an environmental aspect and impact strategy, (3) relating significant aspects and impacts to environmental objectives, (4) assigning a time frame and delineating responsibility to meeting objectives, developing procedures that would have provided all employees with appropriate training, (5) external communication issues, (6) identifying the environmental aspects of goods and services by site contractors and suppliers, (7) conducting internal audits, and (8) a periodic review (internal audit) by senior management.
Many of these deficiencies were addressed by paperwork procedures; however there were some significant changes that were required on the organizational level such as:
The case study represents a classic
case of why many American industries are unwilling to commit to seeking ISO
14001 certification. Classic criticisms
of the policy are those of the expenses and procedural changes associated with
the certification process. It is also
the case that much of the contention surrounding the issue of widespread adoption
of the policy may not be due to the adherence of strict policy guidelines but
perhaps more so the realistic aspects of cost, long-term compliance, internal
disagreements regarding policy changes and implementation and the scrutiny of
an outside auditing process. The case
of the Bayer Pharmaceutical industry was a perfect example of this. In order to meet ISO 14001 standards it had
to make significant changes and develop a policy of continual improvement at
multiple levels throughout the sight.
The company as a whole was not interested in seeking certification and
the Berkley site met resistance from American controlled corporate levels of
the corporation. For any company of this
size to implement such a policy successfully there has to be unanimous
consensus. Despite the implementation of
the 14001 policies at the
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