ISO 14001 diffusion: after the successfully pattern of ISO 9001?

Abstract

El interés de las organizaciones y entes relacionados en la implementación de sistemas de gestión mediabiental (EMS), en especial de la família de normas ISO 14000 y del reglamento EMAS en Europa, ha crecido de forma espectacular en los últimos años en todo el mundo, si bien, se detecta una cierta saturación en ciertos países. Ello nos lleva a pensar, ¿está ya saturada la implementación de EMS?. El presente artículo analiza el caso de la exitosa norma ISO 14000, a partir de la experiencia previa de los sistema de gestión estándarizados con más experiencia en todo el mundo: los sistemas de gestión de la calidad (QMS). ¿Seguiran los EMS los mismos pasos que los QMS?. El análisis realizado, mediante logistics curve that fits quite well in order to explain the nature of these growths, distingue three general patterns to explain the diffusion of these norms, namely: expansionistic, mature and retrocessive.

The interest shown by organizations and other entities linked by the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS), especially the family of ISO 14000 standards and the EMAS regulation in Europe, has grown spectacularly all over the world in recent years, even though a certain saturation has been detected in some countries. That leads us to ask, is EMS implementation already saturated? This article will analyze the case of the successful ISO 14000 standard, based on previous experience with the most widely used standardised management systems in the entire world: quality management systems (QMS). Will EMS follow in the footsteps of QMS? The analysis carried out, using a logistic curve that fits quite well to explain the nature of this growth, distinguishes three general patterns to explain the diffusion of these norms, namely, expansionistic, mature and retrocessive. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.