ENVIRONMENT LEGISLATION

Environment Legislation

Environment Legislation

Introduction

The paper discusses the environmental protection laws and renewable energy legislation. It refers to the standards of ISO 14001 and its implementation in SMEs. The renewable energy laws have been enacted internationally; however, it is important to analyze how the electricity suppliers are influenced by these laws.

Review of ISO14001

The definitive ISO 14001 is the most widely used standards in the series of standards ISO 14000 which relate to the environmental management. It was conducted by the International Organization for Standardization, known internationally by the acronym ISO which is automatically included in the name of standards. ISO 14000 deals with the first head of the "environmental management", that is to say, what makes the body minimize the damaging effects of its activities on the environment, and continuously improve its environmental performance (this contributes to the protection and stability of the environment) (Mitchell, 2006, 300).

An organization (normative term that can refer to a company, service, association, community, entity) can certify its environmental management system according to this standard by third party organizations. The contribution of standards is often imperceptible in our daily lives, their importance is most evident when they are lacking, both in terms of product reliability, or unsanitary conditions and safety in our workplace but also impacts environment. In terms of standardization, there are two approaches: the approach that the product will address through the creation of such label, and the process approach as the ISO 14000 standards which represent a family of "generic standards management system (Mitchell, 2006, 209). The standards are generic as they are intended to be applied to any organization, large or small, whatever its product in any industry, and that the agency is a business, public administration or a government department. ISO 14001 is applicable to any organization that wishes to (Lauber, 2004, 1410):

Establish, implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system.

Ensure compliance with its stated environmental policy.

demonstrate compliance with this International Standard:

conducting a self-assessment and self,

seeking confirmation of its conformance by parties having an interest in the organization, such as customers,

seeking confirmation of its self-declaration by a party external to the organization,

Seeking certification / registration of its environmental management system by an external body (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2000, 8).

The standard

ISO14001 is the name of a standard for environmental management and whose characters are unique to reassure consumers concerned about the environment. It is a comprehensive part of organizational standards, and the ISO or International Organization for Standardization (International Organization for Standardization) is the originating organization (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2000, 7).

Certification

Investors, consumers and customers now give an overriding value to environmental characteristics of products and services. As a result, they expect that the various organizations would show environmental responsibility through their products and actions. Obtaining ISO 14001 is presented as a solution to double impact for these organizations because they not only require them to offload some of the costs and inconveniences now criticized, but in addition, they have the power to raise ...