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For a very good introduction to the ISO Organization and the ISO Process go here.
The ISO 14000 series of voluntary standards address international environmental management systems, environmental auditing, environmental labeling, environmental performance evaluation, and the life cycle assessment. ISO is an international non-governmental organization that promotes the development and implementation for voluntary international standards. ISO consists of 112 member countries, with the U.S. represented by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
ISO 14000 is used as a condition of some customer/supplier transactions, especially in Europe and with the U.S. government. In the courts, ISO 14000 may become a standard of due care in assessing whether a company was in good faith making consistent and diligent efforts to manage its environmental impact.
Ford Motor Company and General Motors among others are requiring ISO14001 certification for suppliers. IBM has strongly encouraged certification for their suppliers. The U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense are working to implement ISO14001. The U.S. EPA has made funds available for state and municipal pilots to test the applicability of ISO14001 to the environmental activities and challenges of local governments.
ISO14000 is becoming a requirement for trade and commerce and could become a condition for business loans. Insurance premiums may be lower for companies that have implemented the ISO14000 standards.
ISO and World Trade
ISO - together with IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and ITU (International Telecommunication Union) - has built a strategic partnership with the WTO (World Trade Organization) with the common goal of promoting a free and fair global trading system. The political agreements reached within the framework of the WTO require underpinning by technical agreements. ISO, IEC and ITU, as the three principal organizations in international standardization, have the complementary scopes, the framework, the expertise and the experience to provide this technical support for the growth of the global market.
The WTO's Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) includes the Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards. The TBT Agreement recognizes the important contribution that International Standards and conformity assessment systems can make to improving efficiency of production and facilitating international trade. Therefore, where International Standards exist or their completion is imminent, the Code states that standardizing bodies should use them as a basis for standards they develop. The Code requires that standardizing bodies that have accepted its terms notify this fact to the ISO/IEC Information Centre Standardizing bodies having accepted the Code must publish their work programs and also notify the existence of their work programs to the ISO/IEC Information Centre. On behalf of the WTO, ISO periodically publishes a directory of standardizing bodies that have accepted the WTO TBT Standards Code.
ISO 9000 is concerned with "quality management". This means what the organization does to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer and applicable regulatory requirements and continually to improve its performance in this regard. ISO 14000 is primarily concerned with "environmental management". This means what the organization does to minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and continually to improve its environmental performance.
This is a link to a Q & A Section: http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/faqs/faq-general.html