IEMA Reports 8% Growth in Global ISO 14001 Data

Certificate league table just released shows the UK holds fast to 4th place in list of most certificates per country

Data just released on the uptake of the international Environmental Management Systems standard ISO 14001 shows that the number of certificates issued worldwide has grown 8% over the last year mirroring the 8% uplift reported last year.

IEMA can report that the data published this week by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) shows a global year-on-year increase of almost 27000 certificates between 2015 and 2016. The worldwide total of accredited ISO 14001 certificates reported now stands at 346190 up from 319324 in the 2015 data report. 323023 of those are for the 2004 version of the standard and 23167 were awarded against the 2015 version.

ISO 14001 is the world’s most used environmental management standard and globally the second most used business standard used by companies to manage performance in approximately 200 countries. The data on global uptake of ISO 14001 comes two years into a transition period between the 2004 and 2015 versions with one year remaining.

The UK has held its position as fourth in the global league table for the fourth consecutive year with 16761 certificates. However the UK’s total is down from the 17824 reported last year – the only nation in the top five to report a year-on-year dip. The UK sits behind China Italy and Japan and one place ahead of Spain in the rankings.

Martin Baxter IEMA’s Chief Policy Advisor and chair-elect of ISO’s environmental management systems committee says: “Environmental management systems are a key tool for improving business performance. This significant annual increase in ISO 14001 accredited certification reflects the critical importance of organisations taking a pro-active approach to environmental management.”

Top 10 Countries - Number of ISO 14001 Certificates

China	137230
Italy	26655
Japan	27372
United Kingdom	16761
Spain	13717
Germany	9444
India	7725
France	6695
Romania	6075
USA	5582

ISO’s full survey data on the standard is available to from here.