Denr first Phl agency to bag iso 14001:2015

The central office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Visayas Ave. in Quezon City has been awarded the latest edition of the ISO 14000 series of environmental management system (EMS) standards.

SGS Philippines managing director Ariel Miranda awarded the ISO14001:2015 series certification to DENR Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje during the three-day First Environment Summit at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City recently.

Paje offered the award to the 18,000 employees of DENR, saying, “obtaining the certification was not easy as each of the agency’s employees regardless of rank, employment status or tenure underwent a massive information campaign to be able to comply with or implement a set of standards and enhance the DENR’s environmental performance.”

ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organizations improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, gaining a competitive advantage and the trust of stakeholders.

According to the environment chief, the DENR central office is the first institution or agency in the country to receive ISO 14001:2015 certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a Switzerland-based international standard-setting body composed of representatives from national standards organizations of 164 member-countries.