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ISO launches Web site for The Kids' ISO 14000 Programme

2004-02-20

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) today launched a Web site promoting The Kids' ISO 14000 Programme, which aims to harness the energy of children and young people around the world to tackle environmental challenges.

Originating in Japan, the programme is being rolled out world-wide in 2004 with the help of ISO whose Secretary-General Alan Bryden declared: "Four months ago, ISO pledged its active support to the programme and today we take another practical step to fulfil our commitment. The Kids' ISO 14000 Programme Web site includes information on the programme's origins, objectives, how it works, the sort of results it achieves, and how schools and private and public sector organizations can participate."

The Kids' ISO 14000 Programme was created and is operated by the Japanese non-profit, non-governmental organization ArTech. It employs a simplified version of the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology used in ISO's highly successful ISO 14001 environmental management system standard, which is implemented by at least 50 000 organizations in 118 countries.

Alan Bryden commented: "The Kids' ISO 14000 Programme is a worthy showcase for one of ISO's best-known standards."

This educational programme has the following objectives:

• develop environmental awareness among children and young people,
• teach them to implement environmental management in their homes and communities, and
• open them to the value of networking with young people in other schools, communities and countries in order to bring the force of collective action to global environmental issues.

Launched in Japan in 2000, it is now going international with the development of programme material in English for subsequent national adoptions and translations. The first of this material is in preparation for the ISO Kids' site. In addition, ISO has published an attractive promotional and informative brochure, The Kids' ISO 14000 Programme (ISBN 92-67-10388-1), which is available free of charge from ISO members and from ISO Central Secretariat.

These actions follow the signing in October 2003 by Alan Bryden of a Memorandum of Understanding with Prof. Takaya Kawabe, President of ArTech, which lays out the role of the ISO Central Secretariat in encouraging the dissemination of the programme through ISO's network of national standards institutes.

Enquiries about implementing the
"Kids' ISO 14000 programme":
Prof. Takaya Kawabe
Director General
ArTech
Tel. + 81 3 3467 6250
Fax + 81 3 3467 6277
E-mail kawabe@artech.or.jp
Web www.artech.or.jp