International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)

ISO is an international organization that develops standards in various technical fields. In addition to technical standards, standards for business operation are also drawn up. These standards focus on quality and environmental care.

In forestry, the ISO 14001 standard is used. This standard specifies the requirements that must be met for the environmental management of a company.  An environmental management system gives a company tools to execute its activities in an environmentally friendly way. This will systematically observe legislation and intentions of the company itself. The aim of an environmental management is to reduce the negative effects of the manufacturing process on the environment.

The 14001 is not specifically for forestry development, but applies to all kinds of businesses. The system is not based on international criteria for sustainable forest management.
Monitoring is done by an independent accredited institution. If a company has an environmental management system that complies with ISO 14001 standards, the ISO 14001 certificate is awarded to the company. It is not possible for the product to be labeled with an ISO certificate. A chain of custody certification does not apply.

ISO also has general guidelines for standardization. These manuals are indispensable when it is decided to develop your own forest certification scheme.

Worldwide, ISO has  145 national standardization and standardization institutes. In the Netherlands, it is the NEN. Information is found on the websites of NEN and ISO.

	NEN
	International Organization for Standardization