ISO 14.

000 CERTIFICATION AND THE GREENING OF CONSTRUCTION

IN AN EMERGING ECONOMY
Plinio Cabrera*, PhD, MSc, Ing.Agr.
ABSTRACT. This short paper describes the self-assessment side-work performed to accompany the
multi-sites ISO 14001 certification process of a medium-sized multinational EPC construction
company, with 400 employees and headquarters in Venezuela. The certification work was carried
out by a team (**) of two (2) members, with external support on particular areas such as legislation
and operational control. The follow up self-assessment was accomplished by a closely supervised
Intern. The certification core team activities included, from start to finish: a gap analysis, project
planning, team training, documentation such as manuals, procedures and work instructions,
flowcharts, forms and records, an external legal audit, an operations external audit, the final
certification audit, a post audit action plan and the reception of the certificate. The scope of the ISO
14001 certificate included 7 sites in 5 countries, took one year of effective work, cost about US$
8,000 and ended successfully.
Key Words: ISO 14001, Certification, Integrated Management, Construction, EPC, Sustainability.
INTRODUCTION. During the execution of an in house project for the ISO 14001 multi-sites
certification of a medium sized EPC Construction Company headquartered in Venezuela, a
complementary and simultaneous self-assessment work was carried out in order to detect
deviations, structure insightful reflections on the process and identify opportunities for
improvement of the company environmental management system. Details of that part of the work
are presented in Cabeza (2016).
METHOD. During the certification process, a closely supervised Intern monitored the work carried
out by the ISO 14001 team, in order to evaluate the degree of fulfilment of the initial scope. The
methodology included a review of literature and a compliance examination of the ISO 14001
standard by the system been implemented, focusing on three areas of the organization: a)
management, b) core operations and c) support activities. A legal compliance assessment matrix
was developed to verify that the organization fulfils the requirements set by legislation and the ISO
14.001 standard. A supplementary questionnaire was applied to a sample of the personnel to
explore the level of in house knowledge and awareness about the ISO 14001 standard and about
the company environmental objectives, goals and programs. The level of environmental
sustainability of the business was also estimated, applying the criteria of Dyllick & Muff (2015) and
a set of recommendations to improve the company environmental management system were
developed.
RESULTS. During the self-assessment side-work, it was possible to identify that the activities carried
out during the whole certification process covered gap analysis, project planning, team training,
documentation (manual, procedures, work instructions, flowcharts, forms and records), external
legal audit, external operations audit; the certification audit, the post audit action plan and the
reception of the ISO 14001 certificate. A follow up audit is foreseen for the next year. It was found
that the company made a notable effort to implement the ISO 14.001 standard, that the system was
adjusted to the requirements, the staff was well aware of the environmental management system
and that the company is in the process of becoming sustainable. Finally, it was found that, during
the certification audit it was detected that two non-conformities appeared in one of the Company
projects, related to hazardous wastes with potential to affect safety and the environment, but it was

also verified that both non-conformities were swiftly corrected, allowing the ISO certification
process to reach a successful completion.
DISCUSIN. The ISO 14001 work described in this paper included the multisite certification of 7 sites
in 5 countries, was executed by 2 professionals in 1 year of effective work and cost about US$ 8,000.
Despite the stringent conditions of an emergent economy, the self-assessment side-work showed
the ISO 14.001 certification process was carried out within the time, quality and cost constrains set
out from the beginning. They compare favorably to international benchmarks for similar processes.
For instance, Corbet and Kirsch (2000) reported duration of up to 12 months and a cost of 10,000
or more dollars, depending of the size of the company. Hemenway (1996) reported costs in the
range of 12,000 to 15,000 dollars for companies from 100 to 200 employees and more recent
information (ISO9000 Store, 2015) sets the cost of certification for companies of similar size,
between 5,000 and 20,000 dollars. For the immediate future, in order to achieve the objective of
becoming an environmentally responsible company with high levels of sustainability, the company
will have to reinforce the implementation of the system providing extensive training and making
strictly follow up and audit of its operations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Cabeza, Felixmar (2016) Internship Report: Evaluacin del cumplimiento de la norma ISO 14001 en
la empresa Pentech Ingenieros 0.5 CA.
Dyllick, T. and Muff, K. (2016). Clarifying the meaning of sustainable business. Introducing a
typology from business-as-usual to true business sustainability. Organization & Environment, June
2016; vol. 29, 2: pp. 156-174.
Hemenway, Caroline (1996) 10 Things You
http://www.qualitydigest.com/oct/iso14000.html

Should

Know

About

ISO

14000.

Sebastianelli, R., Nabil, T. and Iacocca K. (2015) "Improving the quality of environmental
management: impact on shareholder value", International Journal of Quality & Reliability
Management, (2015) Vol. 32, 1: pp. 53 80.
The ISO9000 / ISO14000 Store (2015) How Much Does ISO 9001 Certification Cost?
https://goo.gl/M2qmYL
__________________________________________________

NOTES
(*)

Dr. Plinio Cabrera is expert in Environmental Planning, EIA and ISO14000. Lives in Venezuela and at present
works in the main office of Pentech Ingenieros. For contact: plinio.cabrera@gmail.com
(**)
The ISO 14001 certification tasks described in this paper were carried out as part of a larger in-house project
with a team of 8 professionals (4 full-time, 4 part-time) in charge of the Triple Certification of the company:
ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OSHA 18001. That work was executed 1 and 1/2 years and at a cost of 20,000 dollars.
(***)
First Published in: http://tasraspao.blogspot.com/2016/11/iso-14000-certification-and-greening-of.html