This is not to suggest that ISO 14001 should become mandatory by virtue of regulation, rather ISO 14001 could provide another tool to the regulatory community which can be use to help support improved environmental performance. There are any number of ways this might happen. For example, regulators could rely on ISO 14001 registration as one measure of an organization s environmental performance and choose not to inspect as frequently. This doesn t significantly benefit the organization being inspected, but it could allow the regulatory agency to used its resources more effectively. Conceptually, it makes sense that if companies are using ISO 14001 to more successfully manage regulatory compliance and environmental issues beyond compliance, that environmental regulatory agencies should be able to shift resources to issues needing more focus or to companies with poorer compliance records.
Agencies are often under funded for the work they are charged to do.
Therefore, logic dictates that the regulatory community should be eager to find opportunities to use ISO 14001 to complement its mission. The hope for some form of regulatory flexibility has been on some people's minds since ISO 14001 was first discussed. There is, however, an obligation on the part of federal and state regulatory communities to perform appropriate due diligence prior to determining how best to use ISO 14001. That due diligence includes understanding what ISO 14001 is and what it may accomplish, establishing some level of confidence that ISO 14001 works, understanding the registration process, and understanding the role registration could play in any regulatory program. Most of these efforts predate the ISO 14001 standard.