ایزو 14001 و نرخ تولید زباله های جامد در سازمانهای تولیدی ایالات متحده: یک تجزیه و تحلیل و رابطه

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of ISO 14001 and other significant factors on solid waste generation rates of organizations. The research is based on a survey conducted on a random sample of industrial companies that operate in United States. The paper reveals that companies’ solid waste generation rates are significantly reduced by certification and identifies several factors of ISO 14001 that are most significant in terms of solid waste reduction. The paper also reveals that solid waste disposal costs are also significant and influence the solid waste generation of industrial companies.

In 1996, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) based in Geneva, developed the ISO 14000 series which describe the requirements to be fulfilled by organizations to implement an effective environmental management system (EMS). The ISO 14000 series consists of 21 standards and guidance documents. These environmental standards are divided into six categories: 1) environmental management system; 2) environmental auditing; 3) environmental performance evaluation; 4) environmental labeling; 5) life-cycle assessment; and 6) environmental aspects in product standards (Resale, 2000). ISO 14001 is considered the only standard designed for the purpose of audit and certification in the ISO 14000 series. The core elements of the ISO 14001 standard are environmental policy, planning, implementation and operation, checking and corrective action, review, and improvement. General Motors, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, and other automobile manufacturers have adopted ISO 14001 certification and they are requiring their suppliers worldwide to adopt the certification as a condition for continuing to do business (Morrow and Rondinelli, 2002). Although ISO 14001 certification has been demanded by customers and stakeholders, companies still have no clear understanding of the benefits of implementing ISO 14001 (Babakri et al., 2004). It is often assumed that ISO 14001 certification leads to a better performance, including reduced waste generation, for organizations. Some environmental management system (EMS) authors claim that the effective implementation of ISO 14001 elements will reduce or eliminate negative environmental impact and move a company toward better environmental performance (Rondinelli and Vastag, 2000). However, few studies discuss the quantitative effects of implementing ISO 14001 on improving the environmental performance, including solid waste generation. This paper presents an empirical examination of the impact of ISO 14001 certification and other significant factors on the solid waste generation rates of organizations. This research was conducted in the United States, and includes 121 industrial organizations. The aim of this research is to investigative the reduction of solid waste generation rates for the organizations as result of adopting ISO 14001 certification versus similar organizations that are not certified. The main questions for this paper can be described as follows: “Does ISO 14001 certification lead to a lower solid waste generation rates for organizations and what other factors influence the solid waste generation rates of manufacturing companies?”. Both quantitative regression analyses and qualitative data analysis are studied.

The paper provides empirical insights to existing benefits of ISO 14001 certification. It was shown that ISO 14001 certification quantitatively reduces solid waste generation rates for similar companies. Until this research, these results were not verified. Additionally, regression modeling was utilized to prove that time solid waste disposal costs have significant impact solid waste generation rates. The results of this paper are a significant step in the direction toward resolution of the conflict of whether or not the implementation of ISO 14001 standard drives tangible improvements in companies’ environmental performance. Using the results from this paper, companies can learn more about the benefits of ISO 14001 certification and solid waste generation rates of similar businesses. Companies also could be able, through this research, to justify the expenses of efforts associated with ISO 14001 registration.