مطالعه تطابق مقررات زیست محیطی ایزو 14001 با گواهی شرکت در کره جنوبی

This article investigates the impact of ISO 14001 certification on the compliance with environmental regulations by Korean companies. The impact of ISO 14001 certification on the industry was studied through a questionnaire survey and the compliance of environmental regulations were investigated using government-released data. The motivation for an environment management system was a result of the current international situation and the need to maintain fair competition. ISO 14001 certification has been recognized as an essential strategy for industrial competition and to improve company/product recognition. The certified and non-certified companies' environmental regulation violation (ERV) rates were 3·5% and 11·6%, respectively, in 1997. In 1998, the ERV rate had an eight-time difference with 1·0% and 8·5% for certified and non-certified companies, respectively. Annual regulation violation rates were reduced from 3·5% in 1997 to 1·0% in 1998 with certified companies and from 11·6% in 1997 to 8·5% in 1998 with their non-certified counterparts, respectively. ISO 14001 certified companies showed more improvment than non-certified companies in regards to environmental performance.

Improved environmental management in the industrial sector is required to protect the environment, protect human health and property, and to satisfy environmental requirements associated with international trade. This issue is particularly acute for Korea, a country with few natural resources and thus reliant on the industrial sector and manufactured exports for its economic development. Therefore, identi®cation of processes for improved environmental performance, and meansto certify such performance, are being sought (Yoo, 1999; Lee, 2000). An international standard re¯ecting new understanding and expectations for environmental management systems (ISO 14001) was introduced in 1996, and subsequently adopted by the Korean government. In addition to enhancing environmental protection, implementation of environmental management systems can bene®t industry through improvements in industrial processes, reduced costs and wastes, and enhanced international competitiveness (Kurylloicz, 1996). To date, there has been little analysis of the uptake or impact of ISO 14001 in Korea. This paper compares regulatory compliance of companies that have applied ISO 14001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. with those that have not, and examines the levelof environmental improvement being achieved through application of the standard.

The three most important motivations for adopting an environmental management system identi®ed through a questionnaire were current international pressures and national regulation, and pressure for fair competition. ISO 14001 certi®ed companies showed greater improvement in environmental performance than non-certi®ed companies for environmental situation. Non-certi®ed companies had an ERV three to eight times higher than certi®ed ones in 1997 and 1998. The annual regulation violation rate for certi®ed companies was reduced from 3
5% to 1
0% in this period, with reliable statistic proof provided by checking the con®dence interval ofpopulation ratio difference. The reason for such a positive achievement could be due to the following aspects: (1) the compliance with ISO 14001 process aspects of environmental policy, planning, implementation and operation, checking and corrective action and management review; (2) the systematic approach to managing environmental risk to prevent accidents and environmental regulation violations; and (3) the establishment of monitoring and measurement systems for implementing ISO 14001 for continual improvement. In conclusion, the number of ISO 14001 certi®ed companies has increased, and the environmental performance of these companies is demonstrably better than non-certi®ed companies.