Power supply manufacturer, Power-Win, fabricates their ITE & Medical power supplies under ISO14000, 9002, 9001 standards.

Experience shows that SMEs can implement an effective EMS and can realize a variety of benefits from doing so. However, EMS implementation in smaller enterprises can present significant challenges. An SME Task Group at ISO has developed recommendations to change that perception, and make it easier for SMEs to benefit from implementing an EMS based on ISO 14001:2004.

The ISO 14000 standards are practical tools for the manager who is not satisfied with mere compliance with legislation – which may be perceived as a cost of doing business. They are for the proactive manager with the vision to understand that implementing a strategic approach can bring return on investment in environment-related measures.

The systematic ISO 14001:2004 approach requires the organization to take a hard look at all areas where its activities have an environmental impact. And it can lead to benefits like the following:

• reduced cost of waste management

• savings in consumption of energy and materials

• lower distribution costs

• improved corporate image among regulators, customers and the public

• framework for continual improvement of environmental performance.

ISO 14001:2004 specifies requirements for an environmental management system to enable an organization to develop and implement a policy and objectives which take into account legal requirements and other requirements to which the organization subscribes, and information about significant environmental aspects. It applies to those environmental aspects that the organization identifies as those which it can control and those which it can influence. It does not itself state specific environmental performance criteria.