In 1998, SWD Inc. was one of the first U.S. companies to boast
certification under the ISO 14001 environmental standard. With its
automotive customers asking the 105-person Addison, Illinois,
metal-finishing company to follow ISO 9000 quality standards, the
then-new environmental certificate looked like the natural next
step. "Because of the industry we're in, we have to deal
with environmental laws on a continuing basis anyway," says
vice president Tim Delawder, 35, whose father started SWD in
1980.
Today, more than 1,500 U.S. firms are under the ISO 14001
banner. While they make up a tiny fraction of American businesses,
the number was up 23 percent during 2001. That doesn't rival
Europe and Asia, however. The roster of 14001-certified Japanese
companies was up 50 percent in 2001 to nearly 8,000.
Why the interest? ISO 14001 is the environmental cousin of the
ISO 9000 quality certificates carried by close to a half-million
companies worldwide. The Geneva-based International Organization
for Standardization, author of both, wrote ISO 14001 to specify how
companies should set up, maintain and continually improve an
environmental management system (EMS). The EMS helps companies
monitor and measure the impact on air, water and soil of vehicle
and smokestack emissions, noise, vibration, radiation and other
fallout of business products and activities.
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ISO 14001 doesn't define companies' environmental
impact. Rather, it requires them to analyze environmental aspects
of their products and services and then, based on local regulations
and other considerations, set goals for controlling and improving
that impact. For example, a company that determines its high water
use has a negative environmental impact may change processes to
conserve water.
Suppliers
Demand
Interest in ISO 14001 picked up in 1997, a year after the standard
was released, when General Motors and Ford said their suppliers
would have to follow it, says Susan Gilbert-Miller, director of
environmental services for the Chicago Manufacturing Center, a
government-funded consulting organization. Many now believe the
certification will be essential for entering new markets,
especially automotive, European and Asian ones. But that's not
why Delawder likes it. "Don't expect to get business out
of it," he says. "At this point, it's more of a tool
to make your organization stronger. If I produce more product with
less water, energy and chemistry, I've just saved
money."
Savings aren't free, however. You'll see auditing and
registration fees of about $9,000, says Gilbert-Miller. Every six
months auditors must visit again, an ongoing cost of about $6,000
each time.
Also, SWD's certification was preceded by more than a year
of weekly four-hour meetings involving 10 managers and employees.
"It was a pretty big undertaking," says Delawder. The
lowest total estimates for a company to implement the ISO 14001
standard, including labor and management time, are about $35,000,
Gilbert-Miller says.
The first step in seeking ISO certification is hiring a
consultant. Find consultants with expertise in ISO 14001 through
state or local environmental protection agencies, small business
development centers or the ISO's Web site at www.iso.ch. Next assess the
company's environmental impact, devise goals for improvement
and come up with ways to control and measure that improvement. Then
come the regular environmental audits.
Overall, ISO 14001-related savings are about equal to the costs,
says Delawder. But he says the investment is worth it because it
improves environmental awareness among employees, reduces risks of
violating regulations and improves the company's image among
customers and members of the community.
From being an industrial enterprise that was viewed with
suspicion by some local residents, SWD has become something of a
showplace for environmental awareness. Delawder has brought in
school groups and allowed other business people to study SWD's
operation. And not long ago he did something that, for a metal
finisher, is unheard of. "I let an environmental group tour
us," he says. "Ten years ago, I would have said,
'Where's your search warrant?'"
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