Coster USA recently announced that it has newly been awarded its ISO certification, 14001:2004. An effective management tool, ISO 14001:2004 enables Coster to monitor and control the environmental impact of its production activities, improve its performance on a continuous basis and implement a strategy aimed at addressing significant aspects and meeting prioritized objectives and targets.

This important accolade is the result of several months of intensive activity involving different functions and departments and confirms the company’s efforts in promoting and applying sustainability principles.

The ISO 14001:2004 standard specifies  a set of environmental management requirements for environmental management systems. The purpose of this standard is to help all  types of organizations to protect the environment, to prevent  pollution, and to improve environmental performance.

The standard defines certain actions that are advisable for companies to take in order to receive the certification:

• Evaluate all products, for environmental effects and to minimize the potential for pollution.
• Dispose of all solid or liquid wastes in accordance with the requirements defined by regulation. 
• Work with suppliers and customers in applying full life-cycle responsibility to products. 
• Review environmental performance on a regular basis and develop and implement procedures to ensure continuous improvement. 
• Develop and implement risk control incentives to minimize the potential consequences of accident and emergency situations. 
• Monitor energy consumption on a regular basis and implement appropriate energy reduction and efficiency improvement programs.
• Establish objectives and targets to secure continual environmental improvements.