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ISO 9000 and ISO 14000

This section provides a concise overview of ISO's best known management system standards and their impact on the world.

In brief

The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families are among ISO's best known standards ever. ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 (1996 and 2004 versions) are implemented by over a million organizations in 161 countries.

The ISO 9000 family addresses "quality management". This means what the organization does to fulfill:

• the customer's quality requirements, and
• applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
• enhance customer satisfaction, and
• achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.

The ISO 14000 family addresses "environmental management". This means what the organization does to:

• minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to
• achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.