Analysis of the Certification Intensity Levels on ISO 14001: Trends for the American Continent

Abstract

The search for improved environmental performance has become a priority in many organizations due to the need showoff showing concern for the environment. Environmental certifications such as ISO 14001 represent strategies for companies to improve their management in the area as well as being attractive to consumers and other interested parties. The number of ISO 14001 certifications issued is constantly growing worldwide, stronger in some countries and with lower impulse in others. Although the analysis of the absolute number of ISO 14001 certificates is important, it does not reflect the real interest of the organizations of each country to get certified. Based on the above, the objective of this research was to compare the number of ISO 14001 certificates in the Americas Countries using a Certification Intensity Index, based on Casadesús, Marimon and Heras-Saizarbitoria (2008). This indicator allows the comparison between the number of certifications in countries with economies of different sizes, representing the availabilities of companies with the possibility to get certificated. For this, the relationship between the number of new ISO 14001 and GDP per capita in 13 countries of the Americas in the last four years was evaluated, based on data obtained from ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and The World Bank. The results showed that while the number of certificates in the United States is still below its capacity, companies from countries such as Colombia have shown great interest in getting it. Different internal factors appear to be motivating or complicating the decision to implement ISO 14001 in the continent. Understanding this behavior is important for stakeholders of ISO 14001, such as company managers, ISO technical committees, governments and certification bodies.