ISO 14000 Sustainable Palm Oil - Info on ISO 14000 Standards for Implementing RSPO Principles and Criteria

ISO 14000 sustainable palm oil is achieved when you implement the RSPO Principles and Criteria within the framework of an ISO 14001 certified Environmental Management System.

This brief report provides some background information on international standards and an overview of each of the standards that make up the ISO 14000 series for environmental management.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) was formed in 1947 with the aim of coordinating the establishment of uniform industrial standards internationally. The name ISO comes from an abbreviation of the Greek word isos meaning equal and the shortened form is used internationally, irrespective of language. ISO is a non-government organisation that is located in Geneva and coordinates the network of standards institutes in over 150 countries.

The majority of ISO standards relate to technical specifications and dimensions of industrial products such as bolts and hardware, but the range of activities has been expanded and they now cover agriculture as well as engineering. The ISO 14000 “series” of environmental management standards are very different from most other standards because they define a management process rather than a product or material.

The most widely used standards in the world are ISO 14000 and ISO 9000. ISO 14000 series are for environmental management and ISO 9000 series are for quality production and supply. These two standards are generic management systems that can be applied to any business, large or small as well as irrespective of the type of industry and the stage of maturity of the company. The ISO 14000 Standards are described below.

ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management - Environmental management system specification with guidance for use.

ISO 14001:2004 is the specification for an environmental management system. It describes the components of the system and how it should be applied to a business or an operation. A very important feature of ISO 14001 is that it is non-prescriptive and does not tell you what level of environmental standard that your company must achieve. However it does have some binding commitments that you must make: prevention of pollution, compliance with applicable licences and regulations and continuous improvement of performance.

There is considerable correspondence between the elements of an ISO 14001 EMS and the RSPO Principles and Criteria. Implementing an EMS and achieving certification can assist you to demonstrate ISO 14000 Sustainable Palm Oil.

ISO 14015:2001 Environmental Management - Environmental assessment of sites and organisations.

Environmental assessments or audits often are carried out in relation to due diligence requirements during the purchase or sale of a company or an asset. This standard provides guidance on how to go about undertaking an environmental assessment.

It gives a systematic process for identifying the environmental aspects of a company and as necessary determining the importance of particular issues to the business. This standard is not intended for certification purposes, but to provide a process for a systematic approach to environmental assessments.

Environmental Assessments or Audits that are made against standards such as the World Bank Guidelines, is referred to as "Benchmarking". It provides you with a report card on compliance with the standard.

ISO 1420:2000 Environmental Management - Environmental labels and declarations – General principles.

Many companies make environmental related claims that are included on their product label for marketing purposes and to make their product more attractive. The claims include terms such as “recyclable, compostable, pesticide free, reuseable and reduced energy consumption”. Many of these environmental claims about products are self-declared by the manufacturer in order to gain a competitive advantage.

The ISO 1420 standard specifies the requirements for self-declared environmental claims, including statements, graphics and symbols placed on labels. It describes the terms commonly used in environmental claims and places qualification on their use. This standard gives a process or general methodology for evaluation and verification of self-declared claims.

ISO 14031:1999 Environmental Management – Environmental Performance Evaluation – Guideline.

A company that has implemented and maintains an Environmental Management System will regularly evaluate its performance against its environmental policy, environmental objectives and targets, usually on an annual basis. However, companies that do not have an Environmental Management System in place, from time to time may seek to evaluate their environmental performance. The ISO 14031 Standard provides a methodology for the evaluation of environmental performance. Its application is intended for those companies that do not have an environmental management system.

For example, you may decide to set the RSPO Principles and Criteria as the Environmental Objectives and Targets for your company. The auditor would evaluate your performance against these objectives and targets.

ISO 14040:1998 Environmental Management – Life cycle assessment – Goal and scope definition and inventory analysis.

Consumers and the general public have become increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts of products during manufacture, product use and ultimately disposal. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique that has been developed to study and better understand the environmental impacts associated with consumer products. The ISO 14040 Standard has been developed to describe the principles and a framework for conducting and reporting LCA studies.

The LCA technique assesses the actual and potential environmental impacts of a product in three stages or phases: · Compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs for a product · Evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with those inputs and outputs · Interpreting the results of the inventory analysis and impact assessment phases in relation to the study objectives

The LCA technique has a number of limitations, such as it does not address social and economic impacts. The level of detail available may be limited by assumptions and the scale of some of the conclusions at the global and regional levels are not applicable at the local levels. This international standard does not describe the LCA technique in detail.

ISO 14041:1998 Environmental Management – Life cycle assessment – Goal and Scope Definition and Inventory Analysis.

This international standard describes the goal and scope definition that are important for setting the boundaries for the study in terms of the intended use of the results, and the data categories to be considered. These will determine the level of detail of the study, the geographic area and the time frame. The inventory analysis is the collection of input/output data for the system being studied. This standard specifies the requirements and procedures necessary for the compilation and definition of the goal and scope for the LCA and for performing, interpreting and reporting the Life Cycle Inventory analysis.

ISO 14042:1998 Environmental Management – Life cycle assessment – Life cycle impact assessment.

This international standard gives guidance on the general framework for the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase of life cycle assessment and describes the key features and limitations of LCIA. The LCIA phase uses models of selected environmental issues and uses category indicators to explain the LCI results. These category indicators are intended to represent the aggregate emissions or resource use for each impact category. The LCIA information is used in the life cycle interpretation phase.

ISO 14043:1998 Environmental Management – Life cycle assessment – Life cycle interpretation.

Life cycle interpretation is the final phase of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and involves summarising and discussing the results of life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) and life cycle impact analysis (LCIA). It is a systematic procedure to identify, check and evaluate information from the results of the LCI and LCIA phases of the LCA study. This international standard provides requirements and recommendations for conducting the life cycle interpretation in LCA studies.

ISO 14050 :2002 Environmental Management – Vocabulary.

This international standard contains definitions of fundamental concepts related to environmetnal management that have been published in the ISO 14000 series of standards. Many environmental terms and concepts have recently been developed and there are likely to be further changes as definitions are refined.

ISO 19011:2003 Guidelines for Quality and/or Environmental Management Systems Auditing.

The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 series of international standards recognise the importance of audits as a tool for monitoring and verifying the implementation of a company’s quality and/or environmental policy. Audits also are essential for assessment of conformance with external certification and of supply chain evaluation and surveillance requirements. The ISO 19011 international standard provides guidance on the principles of auditing, managing audit programs, conducting audits, as well as guidance on the competence of auditors.

Implementing the RSPO Principles and Criteria within an EMS to the ISO 14001 Standard involves making a commitment to RSPO in your company policy. The Certification Auditor would check your compliance with your policy statement. The Independent certification audit therefore is a process for verifying the achievement of ISO 14000 sustainable palm oil.