Applying ISO 14001 as a business tool for campus sustainability

Environmental education at post‐secondary levels throughout the world has come to be predicated on, at least in part, the greening of campuses where the courses are taught. Green practices provide legitimacy to environmental education programmes. A number of resources are available to assist staff and students in getting sustainability initiatives off the ground. One in particular holds special promise, from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). Although directed largely towards the business community, the ISO 14000 series of environmental standards may be very useful to campuses when initiating an environmental review, or contemplating the adoption of an Environmental Management Systems (EMS). The standards provide methodological assistance to organisations, including academic institutions, which seek to establish a workable EMS. Use of the ISO standards has the added benefit of bringing the business world into the campus classroom, which may provide a useful counterpoint for environmental education. A case study is included which describes the experience of a New Zealand tertiary college using ISO 14001 in its first environmental review.