In today’s competitive markets, it is customary to see companies striving to improve the qualities of their products and services, but not so much can you see companies enthusiastically concerned about the environment quality. This general observation is not exactly true in the case of Palestinian Pharmaceutical Companies. In their continuing pursuit to maintain a cutting edge in the field of product quality and management, these companies have equally demonstrated unprecedented interest in the quality of the environment as well which led them to ISO14001 Certification. The ISO14001 is the internationally recognized standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS).
“A primary key for an outstanding performance of our company should be demonstrated through developing a vision towards our environmental and social responsibility”, said a CEO of one Palestinian pharmaceutical company. Towards such a vision, local pharmaceutical companies have invested more than 2.5 million NIS (0.5 million US dollars) in infrastructure preparation, equipment, and development of human resources to meet the requirements of this new coming standard to Palestine and the region as a whole. With financial assistance from DAI’s Market Access Program (MAP) and technical consultation and support from ID Management Consultants, these pharmaceutical manufacturers, Jerusalem Co., BirZeit Palestine Co., Pharmacare Co., Jordan Chemical Lab, and Gama Co., went through an 18-month experience during which they captured the reality of being so conscious to man’s health, air, water, and earth.
Just like the ISO9001 Quality Management System standard (QMS) which these companies have implemented earlier, the ISO14001 EMS standard is geared towards another dimension of quality, the quality of the environment. It is not a pure cost initiative as many may think; rather, it has many benefits to the organization itself as well as its surroundings. It shows management adherence to international
standards and national regulations, it improves environmental conditions inside the facility that employees should enjoy, it reduces operational costs through minimizing accidents, waste materials, and energy costs; the ISO14001 EMS improves maintenance programs and employee training and awareness to the community needs. Simply stated, integrated with ISO9001 QMS, the ISO14001 system represents a true management capacity for sustainability and growth.
ID Management Consultants, DAI’s local partner in MAP, led the efforts for this sector-wide project that evolved through several phases starting with identifying environmental aspects of all processes and reviewing all operations. The second phase involves establishing measurable objectives for environmental performance, while the next phase calls for preparing procedures for monitoring and measuring environmental performance, and finally, the implementation of environmental prevention programs. Parallel to these efforts are the training of the human resources, the involvement of the community and governmental departments, and preparations of the facilities’ infrastructures and equipment.
Finally, it is important to emphasize that besides the various benefits of the ISO14001 system, the implementation of this system is now becoming a legal requirement for trade and export as evident from the steps being taken by some international trade partners such as the European Union.
Indeed, it takes visionary management to realize the importance of this standard today and take actions for the future.
