Automotive Customer asking for ISO 14001 Certification from suppliers

[DeKamp]

My Customer is currently asking if my suppliers are certified to ISO 14001. Is this Certification Mandatory in the Automotive industry? My company is Supply Chain Management, and we receive product from China. Only one of our suppliers has this ISO Cert. And when I view it, it seems to state voluntary to obtain.

If it is not a requirement, how/what is the best way to state to my Customer? Especially if the Supplier has no plans to achieve certification.

 

[dwperron]

ISO 14001 is not mandated for compliance to IATF 16949 in the auto industry, but a lot of the players in that industry require their suppliers to be 14001 certified.

If your customer is requiring 14001 certification you will need to make the business decision on is it worth your money, time, and effort to retain that customer.

 

[John Broomfield]

Take a strategic view too.

When will your other customers seek evidence of your actions to reduce global heating? Management systems conforming to ISO 14001 can help with the prevention of pollution by greenhouse gases.

 

[Johnnymo62]

Or you could hire better suppliers and pass the extra costs on to your customer. A new requirement like this is a quotable event.