OVERVIEW OF THE ISO 14000 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT STANDARDS AND THEIR IMPACT ON WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION

摘要

In 1996, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the first of a series of international standards addressing environmental management. The emerging ISO 14000 environmental management standards pose a potentially greater impact on the world community than the ISO 9000/10000 standards that preceded them. Like quality, environmental management cuts across all business sectors; however, unlike quality, environmental issues include regulatory aspects, diverse public interest groups, and an arguably broader scope of applications. These standards may have significant implications for future waste management and environmental remediation activities as they are implemented world wide.