ABSTRACT
So, why would anyone spend nine months of her life writing a book about the business benefits of ISO 14001? Good question. My mom would like to know. The answer is the same reason why I probably will never write a novel. I like facts. Don’t give me theory or platitudes. Simply stick to the facts. After covering ISO 14000 for nearly two years, I thought it was time someone cut through the hope and the hype to ascertain the real benefits of implementing and/or certifying to the international environmental management system standard. I was tired of being bombarded with the “potential benefits” of ISO 14001. I grew weary listening to forecasts of whether the EMS standard would ever attain the same level of acceptance as its popular cousin, ISO 9000. I wanted to move beyond theory and conjecture about the potential impact of the standard to what companies are experiencing in terms of cost savings. I wanted to see if we were putting our money where our proverbial mouth was. Although I readily admit this book has its share of theory and conjecture, the case studies reveal outstanding savings and innovations in waste minimization that provide living models for corporate America and the global community. We put some real dollars and cents to environmental initiatives and talk about return on investment.
