Today we’re going to take a look at an important question: exactly how does ISO 14001 Certification make you more profitable as a company, and what changes can you expect in your organisation once you’re certified to an Environmental Management System like ISO 14001.
In terms of environmental considerations, the public’s sentiment – and their voting power – is increasingly growing aware of the importance of managing the environment and minimising our footprint on the environment. As we move past 2020 and into 2021, this is a trend that is set to increase exponentially as governments legislate environmental policies and eco-businesses are able to leverage their credentials in marketing. The key stakeholder in this equation is the customer, and they will increasingly vote with their wallets and opt for businesses that have adopted the approach mandated in ISO 14001’s environmental concern framework.
We can see, then, straight off the bat that businesses are set up to become more profitable with a system like ISO 14001 in place due to the fact that your organisation’s vision is in line with growing public sentiment toward environmental concerns. Before we unpack that, though, let’s cover some basics of what ISO 14001 certification is, why it’s important and then cover how it could make your organisation more profitable.
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What is ISO 14001 Certification?
ISO 14001 is an internationally-recognised environmental standard that provides organisations with the framework they need to implement an effective environmental management system. The official definition states that ISO 14001 is a “part of the management system used to manage environmental aspects, fulfill compliance obligations and address risks and opportunities” across your operations.
ISO 14001 is essentially a framework that is applied to the context of your operations, where you can tailor-fit an environmental plan that co-exists with your organisation and identifies environmental issues for you to tackle. It’s a system that believes there are always environmental issues for you to tackle, be it with large scale supplier agreements or the smallest of details while shipping or serving a product or service to your customers. With certification to an environmental management system, you’re displaying your clear intention to become a more environmentally conscious and friendly organisation without making sacrifices to the overall quality of your products and services.
Best of all, a system like ISO 14001 can be combined with any existing management system you’ve got in place, where they can consolidate upon the business’ virtues and address risks that need to be tackled in the near and distant future.
Why is ISO 14001 Certification Important?
Certification to an environmental management system like ISO 14001 is important because it’s one of the clearest signs to customers, suppliers and regulators that your organisation is committed to improving environmental risks and concerns across its operations. As we mentioned earlier in this piece, the public’s sentiment and voting power when it comes to environmental businesses has already grown, and is set to increase exponentially as we move into the future. Displaying your organisation’s clear intent to tackle environmental issues and identify new, innovative ways of operating that lessen their impact on the environment is essential in the modern business landscape.
It’s imperative that your organisation displays its environmental credentials and intent to improve its environmental concerns to customers. If it fails to do so, there is the potential that your customers will move to an organisation they feel is more in-line with their environmental beliefs.
What’s more, ISO 14001 certification is important because it provides the organisation with a framework that proves to all involved that there are always issues to be addressed, improvements to be made, and innovations to be found. With these innovations, your organisation can potentially save money, increase the quality of the product or service you’re delivering, be eligible for large-scale contracts and tenders, and display to your stakeholders that you’re the organisation they can trust to invest in environmental improvements to its operations.
How Does ISO 14001 Certification Make You More Profitable?
ISO 14001 Certification makes your organisation more profitable in a number of key areas. First, the framework that ISO 14001 offers can be a game-changer for organisations that have been lacking in both their vision and execution in certain aspects of their operations. One of the common misconceptions of the management system is that it’s a copy and paste exercise; that’s completely wrong. It’s a system that provides the framework for an organisation to adopt new ways of thinking – and operating – that is tailored to that organisation specifically. In the process of this, you’ll gain new insights into your operations, and perhaps find new areas to invest or address in order to innovate on a new or existing product, reduce cost or resource wastage, and continue to inspire customers. The simple act of implementing your management system can provide a number of opportunities to address these challenges, save money and capitalise with new innovative processes and ways of operating.
Secondly, and perhaps even more significantly, certification to a system like ISO 14001 will put your organisation into a category reserved for companies that have proven their commitment to addressing environmental concerns. Not only is this great leverage for your marketing campaigns, it also means that your organisation is eligible to bid on large-scale and government contracts that are reserved for organisations with an environmental management system. By getting certified, you’re able to display the intent of your organisation, and provide evidence of your ability to mitigate environmental risks and operate in a way that coexists with the natural world. Regulators and officials that facilitate large scale tenders are under legal requirements to work only with those that have been certified to a system like ISO 14001, which means your organisation has popped its head higher than a number of competitors and is able to make a bid on large, lucrative projects that could transform your profitability.
Finally, certification to an environmental management system like ISO 14001 can make your organisation more profitable simply by providing customers with an environmentally friendly option out in the market. As the general public becomes more aware of climate change, environmental degradation and over-consumption of resources, they’re more likely to vote for an organisation that shares their values. If your organisation displays evidence that it is committed to minimising its impact over the environment, it’s likely that you’ll inspire confidence in your current – and future – clients.
This, combined with a number of factors that we’ve covered today, could make your organisation more profitable as these beliefs on environmental concerns become even more valuable in the eyes of the buying public.
