5. Cheating #2. Multinational companies already manage their facilities in different countries according to different rules, not a self-regulated standard. Economics drive their principles. Facility A in the United States may be subject to the watchful eyes and regulations of federal and state regulatory agencies, but facility B in another country plays by the rules of that country. Those "rules" include more than just government regulations. They include the government's ability and willingness to administer the laws, and the cultural factors mentioned in item 4 above. If multinational companies are going to play the ISO game, then doing so will have to be truly a "top management" commitment. When I say "top management," I mean the top, not just the top at facilities in individual countries. Assure me that the top guy is going to go to each facility and demand equal ISO participation, and show me how this is going to happen, and then maybe I'll be less skeptical.
Now, does all this pessimism mean I don't think the EMS is a good idea? No way! I think the EMS is a great idea. The simple fact that industries have bothered to get together to develop the EMS standard (ISO 14,001), whether to in some ways preclude government development of tougher environmental laws or for truly altruistic environmental purposes, is important for the process. Not so long ago, all that industry did was to look for ways to avoid environmental responsibility. Many still do. But an increasing number have seen a cadre of sincere, knowledgeable, committed environmental believers enter the ranks of management and the work force, bringing with them a more favorable approach to environmental affairs than their predecessors. This means that change is becoming institutionalized. Things may not be perfect, but they are getting better.
ISO 14,001 means more discussion, interpretation, openness to outside ideas, criticism, innovation, motivation, self-reflection, public awareness, employee education, management commitment and more. Kudos to people who put all the time and effort into developing the ISO 14000 standard. Kudos to those who are just beginning to explore what an EMS is, could be, and how to go about implementing one.