Compliance with ISO 14000 certification series highlights adherence with environmental management standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO one of the world's principal voluntary standards development bodies. The ISO 14000 certification standards are designed to provide an internationally recognized framework for environmental management, measurement, evaluation and auditing.

International Standards- ISO 14001:2004 intended to provide organizations with the elements of an effective environmental management system (EMS) that can be integrated with other management requirements and help organizations to achieve environmental and economic goals

This International Standard 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 information about significant environmental aspects. It is intended to apply to all types and sizes of organization and to accommodate diverse geographical, cultural and social conditions. The overall aim of this International Standard is to support environmental protection and prevention of pollution in balance with socio-economic needs.

This International Standard is based on the methodology known as Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA). PDCA can be briefly described as follows.

Plan: establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the organization's environmental policy.

Do: implement the processes.

Check: monitor and measure processes against environmental policy, objectives, targets, legal and other requirements, and report the results.

Act: take actions to continually improve performance of the environmental management system

To achieve ISO 14001 organisation requires followings :

• Establish an appropriate environmental policy.
• Identify the environmental aspects arising from the organizations past, existing or planned activities, products and services, in order to determine the environmental impacts of significance.
• Identify applicable legal requirements and other requirements, to which the organization subscribes.
• Identify priorities and set appropriate environmental objectives and targets.
• Establish a structure and a programme(s) to implement the policy and achieve objectives and meet targets.
• Facilitate planning, control, monitoring, preventive and corrective actions, auditing and review activities to ensure both that the policy is complied with and that the environmental management system remains appropriate
• Be capable of adapting to changing circumstances.

Advantages of ISO 14001:2004

1. Process improvement.
2. Environmental cost reduction.
3. Better relationships with regulators
4. .Better relationships with insurers, investors, and financial markets
5. Product improvement
6. Marketing advantages
7. Better control of liabilities
8. Reduced regulatory burden
9. Protection of company image and name
10. Demonstration of responsible management