Environmental Audits Spreading Beyond Automakers

John Wolz

The U.S. Big 3 automakers have set dates for Tier One suppliers to receive ISO 14001 certification, and the environmental auditing process is spreading to other industries around the world.
Ford is requiring Tier One suppliers to be certified by the end of this year, General Motors by the end of 2002 and DaimlerChrysler in early 2003. Honda and Toyota are considering requirements.
Auditor Dennis Jacobs noted that such OEMs as Jacuzzi also are requiring it, and Hewlett-Packard is recommending suppliers be certified.
�Why ISO 14001? Jacobs asked rhetorically. �They really believe it is the right thing to do,�
ISO 14001 �is applicable to all types of business from banks to hospitals and schools,� Jacobs noted.
Speaking at an Industrial Fastener & Forming International conference, Jacobs stipulated that the global environmental audit �is not a substitute for regulations. This is above regulations. You set the targets and objectives, document your system and make the results available to the public so they can see you are doing what you say you are doing.�
Jacobs characterized ISO 14001 as intended to be �general rather than prescriptive.�
Jacobs emphasized that ISO 14001 can also save money.
�Water in the West is not as abundant as in the Great Lakes region,� Jacobs noted. In the ISO 14001 process one automotive supplier discovered that the company was treating and dumping waste water cleaner than the water had originally come into the plant.
�The question became �Can they close the loop and not give that water back, thereby reducing use of natural resources and saving dollars?��
Jacobs pointed out the ISO 14001 is �voluntary� and thus �a good opportunity to gain control of their environmental issues.�
� As an international standard, ISO 14001 �levels the playing field globally,� Jacobs observed.
�ISO� comes from a Greek word meaning �equal�, Jacobs noted.
� Any ISO program needs support at all levels. �It must be top management-down and bottom-up driven,� auditor Samantha Kaplan commented.
� �Documentation is less stringent than ISO 9000,� Jacobs said. �But you can�t ignore documentation. You still need to prove what you are doing. Records are the proof.�
� �You track so that as things change you know how you are going to catch them. People in the organization need to know what they need to do if there is a spill or a fire.
� Kaplan said ISO 9000 registered companies can easily base ISO 14001 compliance on other quality assurance programs. �Use what you already have,� Kaplan suggested. �You�ve got procedures in place. Quality assurance can be applied to environmental assurance. Don�t reinvent the wheel.�
Companies with established quality systems may be able to be ISO 14001 certified within six to 12 months, and those without may take 18 months, Kaplan pointed out.
Information is available on several web sites: epa.govperformancetrack, ansi.org/public.iso14000, qualitydigest.com, rabnet.com and iso.ch \
� 2001 FastenerNews.com