ABSTRACT
This chapter presents extensive investigation, research and interviews with the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) 14001-certified organisations, it has been found that the standard favours developed countries and multinational corporation. The cost incurred by local enterprises implementing ISO 14001 is higher than for multinational corporation (MNC) operating in China. Chinese local enterprises often experience the dual pressure of obtaining certification for both ISO 9000 and ISO 14001. By starting the process from the very beginning, a significant amount of time and effort is needed in writing and editing the documentation. In the global implementation of ISO 14001, since the environmental 'green' market differs between developed countries and China, the environmental concept, the environmental regulations and the mitigation costs are also different. ISO 14001 is designed to fit into the existing management systems of MNCs in developed countries and the difficulties of implementation for local Chinese enterprises are much greater than for MNCs in developed countries.
