How can ISO 14001 increase profits? Well, ISO 14001 is the international standard for creating and implementing environmental management systems (EMS.) It was designed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) to help organisations of any type and size reduce their environmental impact.
It helps companies in two ways:
- By providing them a standardised and proven framework they can use to develop effective environmental management strategies and;
- By acknowledging and rewarding a company’s efforts to improve its environmental performance.
In a world where consumers, suppliers, and shareholders care more and more about sustainability and want the brands they shop from to share the same value, obtaining an ISO 14001 certification can give companies a competitive advantage. But, the benefits of an ISO 14001 certification don’t stop at an increased market share. When designed and implemented correctly, the standard can also help you reduce your costs and add to your bottom line.
Let’s take a lot at how ISO 14001 can help you boost your profits and how difficult the certification process.
ISO 14001 Certification from best practice
How Can ISO 14001 Certification Increase Your Organisation’s Profits?
In theory, ISO 14001 certification sounds like a reasonable idea. By implementing it, you ensure that you have the proper procedures to reduce your environmental impact and contribute to a better, less polluted world.
But, of course, there is a long road from idea to implementation, and developing an environmental management system that fits not only the processes but also the nature of your product or service can feel like a daunting take.
So, it’s ok if you are asking yourself if getting certified is actually worth the effort and investment.
Studies show that ISO 14001 certification enables companies to be more profitable by allowing them to improve their reputation and credibility, expand their market share, and ultimately uncover the processes that waste a lot of resources.
Let’s take a closer look at how ISO 14001 certification can add to your bottom line.
- It Can Help You Reduce Costs
The core objective of an environmental management system is to help companies identify the areas, processes, and operations that are wasteful and provide solutions for mitigating these vulnerabilities. ISO 14001 is an environmental management system specifically designed to help companies reduce costs with energy consumption, logistics, raw materials, waste management, and so on.
Think of the following example.
You are running a clothing manufacturing company and your business includes various aspects like electricity, water, fuel, chemicals, and so on. After designing and implementing ISO 14001, you were able to see that electricity consumption was one of the major costs for you as you were spending $180.000 a month on this alone.
By working with a specialist, you were able to identify a few solutions that you could implement to reduce your electricity consumption and, with it, your overall costs. By doing so, you cut your monthly bill by $90.000 and were able to now allocate those resources to other areas of your business or simply add them to your profits.
Of course, you need to account for the fact that any improvement it’s an investment and it will take a while until you recoup your money. But, once you do, the difference will be profit.
- It Can Help You Increase Market Share
One survey found that ISO 14001 certification has a positive impact on business competitiveness. The study shows that 66% of the companies that use ISO 14001 standards have claimed that they’ve won more customers thanks to their certification. Moreover, they also say that the certification has enabled them to participate in calls for tenders where the certification was compulsory.
What this study tells us is that in addition to helping businesses reduce their costs, ISO 14001 certification can also grant them access to new markets.
While you may not realise it now, the lack of ISO 14001 certification can affect multiple areas of your business. In most corners of the world, especially in Europe but in Australia too, most large ISO 14001 certified organisation are asking their suppliers and other companies in their supply chain to carry certification if they want to do business with them. The same goes for the public markets.
The study also showed that 13% of the companies were able to hold their contracts because they were certified. Without the ISO 14001 certification, they would have lost them.
- Improve Your Reputation and Credibility
It’s not only buyers, shareholders, and other parties in the supply chain that care about the ISO 14001 certification. Regular consumers also value more companies who are showing and taking an active interest in reducing their environmental impact.
By being ISO 14001 certified, you can win an advantage over your competitors, improve your brand reputation and credibility, and increase brand recognition.
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Do You Want to Get Your ISO 14001 Certification
Hopefully, by now we’ve made a strong case for why you need ISO 14001 certification and how it can help your company increase its profits. If you would like to get certified but don’t know where to start, then you can get in touch with the experts at Best Practice Biz.
We can help you with your ISO certification process.
Contact us now to learn more.
