As part of an organization’s strategy an environmental management system (EMS) can be developed in compliance with the ISO 14001 standard to implement its environmental policy and address governmental regulations. 

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed an international standard, ISO 14001, to specify requirements for environmental management systems. According to ISO, more than 300,000 organizations in 171 countries have certified to ISO 14001, including more than 3,800 companies in the Unites States.

The purpose of the ISO 14001 management system standard is to specify general requirements and guidelines that, when followed, should provide reasonable assurance that the outputs from the system will have minimal negative environmental impact and improved environmental performance.