Figures published this week show that over 267,000 organisations in 158 countries are now certified to the global environmental management systems standard ISO 14001.
This makes ISO 14001 the world’s most successful voluntary approach to improving environmental performance in businesses and public sector organisations.
During 2011 the top five countries holding the highest number of certificates were China, Japan, Italy, Spain, and the UK. The top six countries maintaining the highest levels of growth in certificates were China, Italy, France, Romania, Republic of Korea and the UK.
“ISO14001 presents a fantastic opportunity to influence over a quarter of a million companies in the world. During this time of economic uncertainty, this continued growth in the number of companies that are now certified demonstrates that investing in environmental measures plays a fundamental role in helping companies and economies build a sustainable future,” said Martin Baxter, Executive Director, Policy, at the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment.
Top ten countries for ISO certificates: 2011
China 81,993
Japan 30,397
Italy 21,009
Spain 16,341
United Kingdom 15,231
Republic of Korea 10,925
Romania 9,557
France 7,771
Germany 6,253
United States of America 4,957
