Voluntary Standards Network

The Federal government uses products and services that meet reliable design and/or performance standards. Many of these standards are developed in the private sector through organizations referred to as voluntary standards bodies. The Federal government's participation in these standards bodies promotes the development of standards that serve national needs in environmental, health, safety, and other areas. Government adoption of voluntary standards can help reduce procurement costs while enhancing effective public-private partnerships.

Environmental Management Systems/ISO 14001 - Frequently Asked Questions
Visit this link for a list of answers to frequently asked questions about Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14000, and ISO 14001.

Voluntary EMS/ISO 14001
This page provides a list of links offering international background information about ISO 14000.

ISO 14000: Role of Voluntary Standards [Text]
This fact sheet explains voluntary standards and their development. It also highlights EPA's use of voluntary standards to support rulemaking compliance activities and partnership programs with industry.

Review of Environmental Risk Managment at Banking Institutions and Potential Relevance of ISO 14000 (PDF) (32 pp, 70K, About PDF)
Background paper which served as the basis for developing an informal gathering of bankers and bank regulators (held at the office of the Bankers Roundtable, Washington, D.C., in February 1997) to discuss the potential utility of ISO-14001-derived information to the financial community.

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