Big Brands That Lead With ISO 14001 And So Can You

In an article featured in the February 2012 edition of ISO Focus + called Future Gear (get the online version here), high-level executives from the world’s leading car makers such as Audi, Bentley Motors and Kia Motors revealed their companies’ perspectives on the benefits of standards implementation.  The global automotive sector is undergoing a radical transformation. The current dialogue is about fully networked cars–the cars of the future, which are now referred to as intelligent transport system (ITS).

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat and Chrysler Group was interviewed and one of his statements just resonates with all of us in quality management, “We do need standards; the world needs standards. Standards help an enterprise manage business-critical issues such as quality, environmental performance and safety.”

In that same article you gain insight on the automotive brands that lead with ISO 14001 as a way to deal with environmental concerns.  Michael Straughan, a Board Member of Bentley Motors defines how Bentley embraces ISO 14001.  He stated, “we were one of the first UK plants to achieve ISO 14001 certification for environmental management, the first in our sector to set out a clear strategy for reducing our impact on the environment, and we are now the first UK automotive plant to certify to the new ISO 50001 energy management standard.”

Let’s move from the automotive sector to the pharmaceutical industry and examine Bayer.  Bayer’s oldest and largest West Coast facility (the Berkeley site) has established a tradition of environmental protection that is now shared by all other sites.  Berkeley was Bayer’s first North American facility to receive ISO 14001 certification and has maintained this certification every year since 2001.  Now, as outlined on the sustainability section of their website (see Bayer Sustainability Management), 62 of their sites are certified to ISO 14001 with an addition 9 certified to OHSAS 18001.  That’s leading in a big way.

The automotive and pharmaceutical industry brands embrace ISO 14001, but what about toy industry?  Who’s leading in environmental leadership? LEGO.  In a great story featured on Greenbang, a smart technology blog, you learn about the incredible sustainability report from this Denmark based toy manufacturer.

LEGO aims to be 100% powered by renewables by 2020.  So is LEGO ISO 14001 certified?  That would be a resounding–yes.  You’ll see from the sustainability section of their website that all of the production sites in the LEGO Group are certified to the ISO 14001 standard, a primary step in their overall efforts which started back in 2007.

On our blog, we continue to demonstrate how ISO 14001 is a key tool in the arsenal of the big brands to address environmental and sustainability goals.  Many of these brands push ISO 14001 down through their supply chains.

So, does this motivate your organization?  Does ISO 14001 apply to you?  Even the smallest of companies, including service organizations certify to ISO 14001.   We’re ALL global suppliers and global supply chains require global environmental standards.  BIZPHYX recently led several clients to ISO 14001 certification, with more to certify in 2012.  Please visit the websites of these recently certified, diverse service providers:

  • CE2, a support services firm for government agencies in Pleasanton, California
  • Elgia, a business process outsourcing firm in Alpharetta, Georgia

They’ve taken the lead in their respective industries–and so can you.

Many of the big brands clearly lead with ISO 14001 for environmental management, so consider yourself in good company.  For more information on achieving on ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 certification contact info@bizphyx.com.