ISO 14000: Legal Advantages of Replacing Command and Control Regulation

Abstract

Both environmental law and regulated industries are experiencing dramatic changes. There is a quite revolution occurring. That revolution is about the ascendancy of environmental management systems such as ISO 14001 as an alternative to “command-and-control” environmental regulation. The legal and popular press has written extensively on the legal disadvantages an organization may meet by adopting ISO 14001. Many of these articles express concerns over audit confidentiality, creation of “litigation road maps,” reporting consideration under various environmental statutes, and the potential liability of outside auditors. While it is true that these are legitimate concerns, this article seeks to review some of the positive legal aspects of ISO 14001. ISO 14001 may provide significant legal protections in the following five general areas: (1) insurance, lender, and investor liabilities; (2) contractor and supplier liabilities; (3) regulatory and criminal liabilities; (4) civil liabilities; and (5) trade embargoes.