International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families are among ISO's most widely known standards ever. ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards are implemented by some 887 770 organizations in 161 countries. ISO 9000 has become an international reference for quality management requirements in business-to-business dealings, and ISO 14000 is well on the way to achieving as much, if not more, in enabling organizations to meet their environmental challenges.
The ISO 9000 family is primarily concerned with "quality management". This means what the organization does to fulfil:
- the customer's quality requirements, and
- applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
- enhance customer satisfaction, and
- achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.
The ISO 14000 family is primarily concerned with "environmental management". This means what the organization does to:
- minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to
- achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.
The vast majority of ISO standards are highly specific to a particular product, material, or process. However, the standards that have earned the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families a worldwide reputation are known as "generic management system standards".
Deatailed information on these standards is available at the ISO website.
