ISO 14000 Environmental Management Standards: Their Relation to Sustainability

The aim of this study was to explore the link between sustainable development and the ISO 14000 Environmental Management Series of Standards, with particular reference to the ISO 14001 standard. In order to do this, it was decided to evaluate the ISO 14000 series in the context of a large engineering facility; namely, the Canadian provincial Crown Corporation of Manitoba Hydro. The ISO 14000 series is in principle an effective system to manage an organization’s self-prescribed environmental goals; however, its main limitations are that it does not require the demonstration of environmental performance and it is sometimes difficult to interpret and apply due to ambiguous language. The paper closes with speculations that despite these shortcomings, the essence of the ISO 14000 series of standards is in sympathy with the notion of sustainability.