Does the selection of ISO 14001 registrars matter? Registrar reputation and environmental policy statements in China [An article from: Journal of Environmental Management]

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Environmental Management, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This study investigates the relationship between characteristics of environmental policy statements and the reputations of ISO 14001 registrars who had performed certification audits of firms operating in mainland China. Three characteristics of environmental policy statements were examined: (1) The conformance of the policy to strict interpretations of the international standard; (2) The policy statement's adherence to the good practice guidelines specified in ISO 14004; and, (3) Self-reported evaluations of the policy statement's effectiveness as implemented. Data from 106 facilities in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou reveal that registrar quality has a relatively weak, positive relationship with conformance to both ISO 14001 standards and to ISO 14004 guidelines, but no relationship was observed with the self-reported data. Additional findings are that the use of foreign registrars is significantly associated with the adoption of ISO 14004 guidelines and that conformance with ISO 14001 standards is somewhat higher for international joint ventures and foreign-owned firms than for state-owned enterprises.