ISO 14000: Assessing Its Perceived Impact on Corporate Performance

SUMMARY The ISO 14000 series of environmental standards is a relatively recent development in environmentally responsible manufacturing (ERM). It applies to environmental systems and processes the same approach used by its predecessor, the ISO 9000 quality standards. Being relatively new, numerous questions have arisen regarding the impact of these new standards on both the corporate environmental management system and corporate performance. This article addresses some of these questions by drawing on data generated by a large‐scale survey of American managers. The results indicate that, even though ISO 14000 has achieved relatively limited acceptance, there is strong evidence to indicate that this series of standards can positively impact both the performance of the environmental management system as well as overall corporate performance. Further, it was found to outperform other ERM initiatives such as the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 33/50 program.