ISO 14001 provides for self certification.

The companies were generally among the first to obtain ISO 9000 certification of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO 14001 has contributed significantly to the development of an EMS certification industry.

In Argentina, ten firms had obtained ISO 14001 certification by 31 March 1997.

However, ISO 14001 certification by itself does not ensure continuous compliance with environmental legislation.

In addition, certification to ISO 14001 can be seen as demonstrating compliance with national environmental legislation.

In a 1996 survey, 51 per cent of companies expressed an interest in ISO 14001 certification.

However, some experts expected that new trading opportunities will be opened if companies have ISO 14001 certification.

For widespread confidence in ISO 14001 certification, each country will need to have a rigorous and reliable mechanism to support accreditation of certification bodies and provide assurance that certification is done rigorously and fairly.

Two elements are important in determining the costs of participation in the ISO 14000 certification standard (a) the incremental costs in meeting the requirements of an EMS like ISO 14001 (e.g. setting up and maintaining an EMS, hiring consultants, meeting company determined performance goals) and (b) costs of certification and registration to ISO 14001.

In April 1997, five companies obtained ISO 14001 certification, i.e. one car manufacturer and four public utility companies.

The international value of ISO 14001 certification, however, depends on the confidence that others have in the body that performs the certification and in the process it uses.

Some experts estimate that the costs of ISO 14000 certification could be as much as a third higher than those for ISO 9000, due to the complexity of the ISO 14000 standard and the lack of qualified people.

Certification issues have a considerable bearing on the ability of ISO 14001 to act as a barrier to trade.

ISO 14001 may act as a non tariff barrier to trade if certification is costly or difficult to achieve.

The ISO 14001 standard may result in a de facto barrier to trade if companies have difficulties in obtaining certification.

Finally, demands by customers and importers in developed country markets need not go as far as requesting ISO 14001 certification.

Thirdly, many developing country firms wanting to participate in ISO 14000 tend to depend largely on consultancy services provided by developed countries, and the success of ISO 14000 registration with local certification bodies in developing countries will depend largely on the acceptability of such certification in the importing country.

The costs of certification carried out by local ISO registrars in developing countries tend to be much lower.A. Davie, quot ISO 14001 Issues for Developing Countries quot , in Christopher Sheldon (ed.), op. cit..

6. Experts stressed that certification and accreditation should be fair and rigorous to safeguard the credibility of the ISO 14001 certificate.

Experience with ISO 9000 shows that the absence of the necessary infrastructure in developing countries reduces the chances of achieving certification.

An important question in this context is whether having an ISO 14001 certification may lower any burden arising from such requirements.

Pilot schemes provide opportunities for mutual learning by the local certification bodies and firms in interpreting the requirements of ISO 14001.

The Government has played a dominant role in promoting ISO 14001, including providing grants to defray costs for companies seeking certification.

Trade considerations play an important role in the implementation of ISO 14001 and the establishment of certification facilities in developing countries.

Ministries and other government agencies in some countries may consider ISO 14001 certification as a condition for participation in government procurement bids.

NEPA has developed pilot programmes for ISO 14001 certification, training programmes for auditors and companies, as well as general awareness raising programmes.

Several developing countries have already established conformity assessment systems to enable certification by local bodies.ISO apos s TC 207 is not directly responsible for establishing a conformity assessment system to support certification to the ISO 14001 standard.

In April 1997 four Brazilian companies obtained ISO 14001 certification and eight Brazilian companies were about to be ISO 14000 certified, while 50 companies had adopted EMS that are quot ISO 14000 compatible quot .CBI News Bulletin, June 1997, Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

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26. It was noted that pressures on SMEs to introduce managerial procedures to obtain ISO 14001 certification could detract from the environmental objectives of setting up an EMS.

The results of the strategy have materialised in Singapore, where the three hospital of Gleneagles were the first hospitals in Asia to achieve ISO 9002 international quality certification.

5. Pressures on developing country suppliers to demonstrate ISO 14001 certification could result in barriers to trade and or detract from the environmental objectives of setting up an EMS.

According to some estimates, in the case of ISO 9000, certification audits alone may cost between US 10,000 and US 30,000 if European or United States consultants are used.

It is hoped that work on conformity assessment for EMS should result in internationally harmonized accreditation systems for EMS certification bodies, which will support universal recognition of ISO certifications.

Fifty six companies in the chemical, electronics, cement and construction sectors have acquired ISO 14001 certificates, and a significant number of companies (mostly large ones) are preparing for certification.

For example, in Australia, the government sector recently dropped requirements for ISO 9000 certification, since experience had indicated that making certification mandatory for government purchasing caused significant market distortions, as small companies could not afford certification and, most significantly, competition was reduced.Dianne Gayler, quot Implementation of Environmental Management Standards in Australia quot , paper presented at the APEC Seminar.

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Some developing country firms may seek ISO 14001 certification as a means to increase export competitiveness and strengthen market positions, even in the absence of explicit pressure from overseas customers.

Experts may wish to identify the basic requirements in terms of infrastructure, e.g. availability of consultants and or credible certification bodies, required for companies to participate successfully in ISO 14001.

Creating appropriate infrastructure for participation in ISO 14001 could perhaps help to attract FDI in certain environmentally sensitive sectors, as could be the case if TNC subsidiaries impose certain environment related requirements on local suppliers, or if investors setting up joint ventures require their counterparts to have ISO certification.

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