Certifying EMS saves money, say businesses

Working towards ISO 14001 certification helps organisations to cut costs, by encouraging them to be more resource efficient, reveals NQA

Of 100 firms polled by the certification body, 80% confirmed that they had benefited financially from the actions they had taken to certify their environment management system (EMS) against international standards, such as ISO 14001 and ISO 50001. And, more than half said they would recoup the cost of certification within 12 months.

The companies reveal that in working towards certification they implemented measures , including introducing recycling regimes, improving energy efficiency and reducing water consumption, that delivered financial savings, with tackling energy and water cited as the most effective in producing savings.

“It is easy for businesses to point to in-house initiatives to claim a good environmental performance, but it is the rigour and discipline associated with adherence to the standard that ensures real change is implemented where necessary,” said Mo Ghaus, head of NQA.

Despite the overall positive results, 12% of those surveyed revealed that they were not confident that there organisation would see a financial benefit from gaining certification, and, when asked what the main benefit of certifying an EMS, the majority of those surveyed cited the reputational benefits.