Effectiveness of ISO 14001 in the South African chemical industry

Abstract: The chemical industry is one of the important industry in the South African industrial base, continuously being pressured to operate in an environmental friendly manner. Business with a good environmental practice in the South African chemical industry has become a key aspect for investors, customers and other stakeholders. In response to this challenge, chemical companies have implemented Environmental Management Systems into their businesses and getting certified to the various international standards. The ISO 14001 has been the leading international standard with the key purpose of progressively controlling environmental impacts while ensuring that objectives and targets are met. ISO 14001 gives the competitive advantage in the marketplace and the company benefits economically covering the whole organization’s scope that including its products, operations, services, facilities, activities and transportation. South African companies have implemented the ISO 14001 EMS as a result of their response to the demand from customers and market for higher environmental reliability