Burning rivers, toxic runoff, dumped waste in an open field, acid rain, and brown air. Are we describing a dystopian future or the not so distant past? Either way, most of us wouldn’t find this an appealing environment to live in, and ISO 14001 is here to prevent it.
As with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 is largely customer driven, and is a requirement placed on suppliers by their customers. Where ISO 9001 focuses on quality, ISO 14001 covers environmental management for companies.
ISO 14001 Overview
ISO 14001 is governed by the International Organization for Standards (ISO). ISO was established in 1946, and has sense grown to more than 300,000 certifications in 171 countries around the world.
The goal of ISO 14001 is to set out a criterion for companies to build an environmental management system and to be certified towards. The main goal is to improve environmental performance through an efficient use of products / resources, reducing the waste footprint, and giving companies a competitive advantage.
Lowering Costs
The process of becoming ISO 14001 certified can be costly, but can save your company money in the long run. Through this certification, companies establish compliance with governmental / regulatory requirements, reduce overall waste and increase efficiencies, develop recycling initiatives, and become a better corporate citizen.
So how does this lower your costs? By becoming more efficient in your processes, there will be less material waste, electrical waste, etc. This process will also ensure you are compliant with local laws thus avoiding costly fines.
Using ISO 14001 will bring the environmental management into every area of your company, and help increase efficiencies through internal audits, management reviews / goals for continuous improvement. Recycling your scrap materials can also help recover costs from material that might otherwise occupy space at a landfill.
Samtec’s Environmental Policy
Samtec is committed to conducting business in a manner that will preserve and protect the environment.
This commitment includes the following objectives:
- Complying with environmental laws and other agreed upon requirements
- Promoting the prevention of pollution
- Conserving natural resources
- Recycling materials
- Reducing waste
- Appropriate environmental objectives
These objectives are to ensure a safe and secure environment for our customers, associates and the community through an Environmental Management System (EMS) that is continually improving.
Samtec holds several certifications including ISO 9001, IATF 16949, and ISO 14001. You can find these certs for each of our facilities, as applicable, here. For additional questions concerning quality and/or Samtec’c certs, please contact quality@samtec.com.
For more information about the International Organization for Standardization make sure to check out their website. If compliance is of interest to you, then make sure to check out our blog on ISO 9001, UL Testing, and ICP Testing.
