Hi Cove :)
i'm missing you so much
i hope that you are doing well, all of you
i have a question:
can the client impose to its supplier a certification to the ISO 14001 standards. in their agreement, the company has commit to be compliant in environement matters, but does this can oblige this company to get certificate when she don't want to get it because of the cost of course ?
The argue of company is that the back office is certificated and they are following the internal procedure of their back office and the ISO 14001 guidance as well

Thanks you in advance

selena
:thanx:

Your customer can require you to jump through any hoop they want as long as it's moral, ethical and legal.

Unless of course you don't need or want their business (and money).

A good majority of organizations world-wide have obtained certification because their customers said "Do it or else...."

This isn't anything but Business 101 and basic contracts

Thanks randy for the answer
:)

Hi Cove :)
i'm missing you so much
i hope that you are doing well, all of you
i have a question:
can the client impose to its supplier a certification to the ISO 14001 standards. in their agreement, the company has commit to be compliant in environement matters, but does this can oblige this company to get certificate when she don't want to get it because of the cost of course ?
The argue of company is that the back office is certificated and they are following the internal procedure of their back office and the ISO 14001 guidance as well

Thanks you in advance

selena
:thanx:
The word " agreement " implies binding by both parties to all that is said in the text of the agreement document. So when you sign off the agreement which contains requirement of you being ISO 14001 certified, it is a part of the requirement committed and to be honoured by you. It is one of the way your client will get assurance that you are maintaining continued compliance to all environmental / legal compliance and that he has some assurance of your business existance not being effected by any legal non-compliance due to not meeting statutory environmental matters, which in turn effects the client's supplies. There are some clients who also conduct annual audits on sustainability of suppliers, apart from your ISO 14001 certifications etc., only to make their own assessment through their own systems.

The word " agreement " implies binding by both parties to all that is said in the text of the agreement document. So when you sign off the agreement which contains requirement of you being ISO 14001 certified, it is a part of the requirement committed and to be honoured by you. It is one of the way your client will get assurance that you are maintaining continued compliance to all environmental / legal compliance and that he has some assurance of your business existance not being effected by any legal non-compliance due to not meeting statutory environmental matters, which in turn effects the client's supplies. There are some clients who also conduct annual audits on sustainability of suppliers, apart from your ISO 14001 certifications etc., only to make their own assessment through their own systems.

It's called a contract and this is about as usiness relationship basic as it can get...

It is beneficial to know the concept of 'influenced aspects' in ISO 14001 for further understanding. Read the following thread for more details: ISO 14001 Influenced Aspects? Does anyone have an influenced aspect in your EMS? (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=14993&highlight=influenced+aspects)

ISO 14001:2004, Clause 4.3.1 states "The organization shall establish, implement and maintain a procedure(s)
a) to identify the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services within the defined scope of the environmental management system that it can control and those that it can influence ..."

Hi Covers
thanks for all replies
When i was fast to nodded positivly on what Randy said, it is because i had the same answer . to tell you the details:
in the agreemment , there is no mention to iso 14001 certificates but it said that the company will respect the environment and its matters. now the client want to get the certification just because in order to get more in case of selling it. more they want to oblige us to get their procedures while we got ours. that was the point of argue. for the company, she is surely compliant to iso 14001 as well as it following the guidance of back office which is certificated,
to refuse or agree to get certificate is just a money issue notting else. Thanks Harry for the link
hope i made it more clear
:thanx: in advance

Your customer can require you to jump through any hoop they want as long as it's moral, ethical and legal.

I would love to agree with you totally, but I suspect that at times, the proviso really should just read 'provided it's legal' (and even that's a bit questionable at times). OK, just having a cynical moment over here...:tg:

I would love to agree with you totally, but I suspect that at times, the proviso really should just read 'provided it's legal' (and even that's a bit questionable at times). OK, just having a cynical moment over here...:tg:

Yeah you're right....Morality and ethics have no place in business:lol:

Yeah you're right....Morality and ethics have no place in business:lol:
I'm glad we got that straightened out. :lol: