ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 in plain English
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 appear on many supplier profiles. They are often mentioned together, but they cover different things.
ISO 9001: quality management
ISO 9001 is a standard for how an organisation manages quality. It expects documented procedures, records, checks, handling of complaints and a system for correcting problems. An independent certification body audits against it and repeats the audit periodically.
ISO 14001: environmental management
ISO 14001 is the equivalent for the environment. An organisation identifies its environmental impacts, meets the legal requirements that apply, sets objectives and measures progress against them.
What they do and do not tell you
Both are management-system standards. They show that discipline and controls are in place. They do not set a fixed performance level, which is why buyers also look at performance-based ratings such as LWG.
In our group
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 are held by the group’s tanneries. Certificates are available on request.
Questions to ask
- Which site and activities does the certificate cover?
- Is it current, and who issued it?
- What were the most recent audit findings, and were they closed?
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