The ISO 14001:2004 standard is an internationally recognized standard used for the certification of environmental management systems. Organizations implementing this management system commit to continuous improvement in minimizing the negative impact of their operations on the natural environment. Available research results confirm that the implementation of the ISO 14001 standard translates into improved environmental and economic performance of enterprises.
Organizations introducing this system expect that certification will result in increased competitiveness and profitability. Most available research results concern the assessment of certification effects occurring solely within organizations implementing this management standard. However, the impact of the environmental standard has a broader context. The results of the pro-environmental attitude of enterprises can also be visible in organizations linked to a given enterprise through a supplier-customer relationship. Moreover, companies that respect the principles of environmental protection are increasingly thinking in terms of entire supply chains, expecting similar behavior from their partners.
ISO 14001 and green supply chain management
A supply chain is a group of companies introducing a product to the market. Every company is part of a supply chain, whether it is aware of it or not. Wanting to function better in an increasingly competitive environment, enterprises strive to consciously integrate their activities across many different areas. We are then dealing with supply chain management. Although enterprises usually integrate their operational and strategic activities with economic issues in mind, environmental aspects of their actions are also increasingly taken into account. The effect of changes occurring in the awareness of modern organizations is the coining of related terms, i.e., Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) and Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM). At the same time, there is talk of green supply chains, i.e., those that take environmental conditions into account in the process of their integration. Sustainable supply chain management covers a broader spectrum of activities, taking into account not only environmental issues but also social and economic aspects. Due to the complex nature of supply chain management, green supply chains are discussed in the literature from various perspectives. Most often, the analyses concern material sourcing, environmentally friendly production design (e.g., less energy and less pollution), assembly, storage and distribution, retail, as well as reverse logistics. Activities related to the implementation of the ISO 14001 system in enterprises can be the beginning of joint work on “greening” supply chains. Companies with ISO 14001 certification are more active in environmental activities in supply chains than those without certification. However, one of the fundamental problems for enterprises wanting to integrate their activities also in the environmental scope is the lack of standardized ways to implement pro-environmental changes. Having an environmental management system certificate can be a facilitator, and it seems that companies with ISO 14001 certification should be at the forefront of companies implementing GSCM.
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Source: Logistyka Magazine
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