ISO 14001 as a legal requirement

I do not know of any country where ISO 14001 certification is mandatory by law in any economic sector. What I see is that some important customers in relevant economic sectors make ISO 14001 certification either a mandatory requirement, or a plus for qualification of a supplier.

For example, in the automotive sector. 

Concerning VW, in its 2018 Sustainability Report, it states:

“A certified environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001 and/or EMAS is one of the ecological requirements our tier 1 suppliers have to meet.”

Concerning GM, it required all supplier facilities to be ISO 14001 certified by December 31, 2002.

Concerning Ford, it required all supplier facilities to be ISO 14001 certified by July 1, 2003.

Sources for GM and Ford requirement are difficult to find but it is well documented in news around the world from the beginning of the century.

So, it is natural that Tier 1 suppliers make ISO 14001 certification a mandatory requirement for Tier 2 suppliers and so on. 

Your organization, instead of legal requirements, can use its purchasing power to invite or make mandatory the ISO 14001 certification. For example, certified suppliers could expect more orders.

The following material will provide you more information about aspects and impacts:

- Article - Driving Your Supply Chain to ISO 14001 Compliance - https://advisera.com/14001academy/blog/2015/04/13/driving-your-supply-chain-to-iso-14001-compliance/- Article - How to manage outsourced suppliers in line with ISO 14001:2015 - https://advisera.com/14001academy/blog/2017/07/11/how-to-manage-outsourced-suppliers-in-line-with-iso-140012105/- Free webinar - Free webinar - ISO 14001: Identification and evaluation of environmental aspects - https://advisera.com/14001academy/webinar/iso-14001-identification-and-evaluation-of-environmental-aspects-free-webinar-on-demand/- Enroll for free in this course – ISO 14001:2015 Foundations Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-14001-internal-auditor-course/- Book – The ISO 14001:2015 Companion - https://advisera.com/books/the-iso-14001-2015-companion/