Susan S. Raines

Implementing ISO 14001—An International Survey Assessing the Benefits of Certification

Abstract The costs and benefits of ISO 14001 certification result in firms choosing this route as a tool for proactive environmental management, according to a survey of 131 companies across the world. The following paper examines the motivation to pursue ISO 14001 certification for companies in developed and developing countries. While the costs of ISO 14001 certification vary widely, almost all respondents report substantial cost savings as a result of implementation. This was especially the case in developing countries, where enthusiasm about the standard (among certified firms) is very high. Contrary to the concerns voiced by skeptics, many firms stated that they decided to implement an ISO 14001 in order to “be a good neighbor” and to raise their employees level of environmental awareness. Surprisingly, very few respondents stated that their primary motivations for implementation were profit-related. The majority of firms appear to be using ISO 14001 as a tool for proactive environmental management, as its creators intended.

Perceptions of Legitimacy and Efficacy in International Environmental Management Standards: The Impact of the Participation Gap

What is the impact on perceptions of legitimacy and efficacy when key stake-holders are absent during the creation of international standards? Can these international standards setting bodies adequately address the needs of all countries when often working in the absence of developing countries? This study examines the process through which one international environmental management standard (ISO 14001) was created and analyzes its perceived legitimacy and efficacy among developing country stakeholders relative to those from developed countries. Data for this project come from interviews with 42 delegates to the ISO 14000 standards-drafting sessions in Malaysia and 133 surveys of ISO 14001 certified firms in 16 countries. The article concludes that stakeholder absence impacts both legitimacy and efficacy of ISO 14001 in interesting and unexpected ways.

Leadership Matters Policy Entrepreneurship in Corporate Environmental Policy Making

An important feature of the new public management paradigm is the increasing reliance on voluntary codes rather than coercive mandatory regulation to achieve public policy objectives. Often, the proponents of new public management overlook the important contributions of policy entrepreneurs within regulated firms in popularizing such codes. Focusing on the environmental policy arena, this article documents that such policy entrepreneurs—corporate environmental entrepreneurs—exist in many corporations and significantly influence firms’ adoption of progressive environmental policies. This article uses survey data from firms in 16 countries to examine the role of corporate environmental entrepreneurs in the context of an international voluntary code that seeks to encourage firms to adopt environmentally progressive policies.

ISO 14001 in the United States: Good News on the Question of Hype versus Hope

In December of 2000, Environmental Practice published an article by Robin Shoal in which she concluded that ISO 14001s ability to reduce negative environmental impacts depended largely upon the strength and sincerity of the environmental commitments of those firms choosing to adopt an ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS). According to Shoal, the jury was still out on whether ISO 14001 would move beyond hype and offer true hope for improved environmental performance of firms worldwide. Building on the work of Shoal and others, this article draws a more definitive conclusion about the ability of ISO 14001 to actually improve the environmental performance of American firms and the motivation of those firms seeking certification. Data from a mailed survey of randomly selected ISO 14001 certified companies in the US reveals that the majority of firms became certified out of a desire to “be a good neighbor” and to establish themselves as environmental leaders within their industries. While managers hope that ISO 14001 will help them increase profitability, they generally say that they care even more about ISO 14001s ability to improve environmental performance. Data from this study show that the vast majority of respondents reported environmental improvements related to the implementation of an ISO 14001 EMS, regardless of their reasons for becoming certified.