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'Kids' ISO 14000 Programme' aims to promote environmental awareness among children worldwide

2003-10-28

ISO is increasing its support for promoting and spreading the "Kids' ISO 14000 programme" to develop environmental awareness among children around the world and enable them to take practical steps to improve the environment.

The Kids' ISO 14000 Programme, which draws on the organizing principle of the ISO 14000 environmental management system standards, was created and is operated by the Japanese non-profit, non-governmental organization ArTech. More than 50 000 Japanese schoolchildren have participated in the programme, launched in 2000, which is now on its way to becoming an international one. The United Nations University (UNU) is co-operating on the programme and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) also supports it.

Alan Bryden (left) and Takaya Kawabe (right) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Tokyo, Japan

 

On 24 October 2003 (see photo), ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden (left) and ArTech Director General Prof. Takaya Kawabe (right) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Tokyo, Japan, confirming an earlier agreement between the two organizations in October 2002, since when ISO has lent its name and logo to the programme. Under the new MoU, ISO Central Secretariat pledges active support by using its communication media to promote the programme, and by encouraging its dissemination worldwide through ISO's network of national standards institutes in 147 countries.

Alan Bryden commented: "Just about everyone is agreed on the need to 'do something' to control the negative impacts of man's activities on the environment. Practical tools for achieving this, and for improving environmental performance, are provided by International Standards like the ISO 14001 environmental management standard that is implemented by more than 50 000 organizations in 118 countries.

"Therefore, it is normal that ISO should respond positively to ArTech's desire for cooperation because its programme demonstrates even to young children that the small, practical steps they carry out can have incremental, positive results."

Prof. Kawabe explained: "The three principal aims of the Kids' ISO 14000 Programme are:

• firstly, to stimulate environmental awareness among children;
• secondly, to teach children to implement a simplified form of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle at the heart of ISO 14001 and use it to monitor and reduce energy and water consumption in their homes, and,
• thirdly, to encourage the formation of networks of these children, both locally and worldwide, in order for them to work together on global environmental issues.

"In many cases in Japan, the parents of children participating in the programme work in business organizations that are implementing ISO 14001, and the families live in municipalities certified to ISO 14001, or seeking certification.

"ISO 14001 enjoys recognition on the international scale as a tool for improving environmental performance. ArTech is therefore happy to incorporate reference to the ISO 14000 family in the name of its programme because it aims on the international scale at educating children to the practical measures they can take to improve the environment, first in their homes, then in their communities."

The international welcome for the Kids' ISO 14000 Programme and the international recognition for ISO 14001 were both demonstrated by the venue for the signing of the MoU: the UNU headquarters in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. UNU recognizes the benefits of ISO 14001 since it is the first UN organization to be certified to the standard, since early 2001 (see www.unu.edu/iso14001), and is seeking renewal of its certification in 2004.

• More information about The "Kids' ISO 14000 programme"