GEALAN and the environment

• Our commitment
• Our material: PVC
• PVC material cycle
• The GEALAN Eco-Agreement
• EMAS environmental audit
• The GEALAN environmental declaration 2002 (PDF)
• DIN EN ISO 14001 environmental management system
• Sustainablility benchmarking
• Oekoradar.de
• DIN EN ISO 14031 environmental performance evaluation
• ISO TR 14032 technical report
• Climate protection tips for the home

Company

• The various locations of the GEALAN Group
• Success factors of the GEALAN Group
• GEALAN employees
• Initiatives
• Responsibility / environment
• Purchasing department

GEALAN international:

Environment

So that environmental efforts can be seen

DIN EN ISO 14031 Environmental Performance Evaluation

DIN EN ISO 14031 deals with the problems organisations and businesses have in evaluating their environmental performance. It helps identify and quantify indicators and markers, and anchors these in an evaluation cycle. ISO 14031 is therefore an instrument for organisations with ecological management systems to help appraise their efforts. At the same time, it serves as a guide for small and midsized businesses that do not yet have any ecological management systems in place. It can help them to identify environmental aspects and criteria without having to pay consultation or certification fees.

The structure behind ISO 14031

After the introduction, description of the applicable area and the glossary of terms, the environmental performance evaluation is divided into three chapters and two appendices. In addition to the general overview, the document contains aids for planning an environmental performance evaluation, applying data and information, as well as auditing and improving the environmental performance.

The appendices contain practical aids for informing interested parties (i.e., employees, customers, financiers, neighbours, environmental protection groups, etc.). Additionally, the appendices provides information about the classifiers used in the environmental performance evaluation.

GEALAN as an environmental pioneer

Together with five other companies, GEALAN helped by the "birth" of the new standard. This happened as a part of the project "Environmental Performance Evaluation According to ISO 14031 for Midsized Businesses". This was sponsored by the German Endowment for the Environment (Deutschen Bundesstiftung Umwelt) and carried out under the leadership of the Institute for Practical Business Management (Institut für Praktische Unternehmensführung) and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Ecology and Energy. Together with the baby food manufacturer HIPP, a printing/publishing house, a decorative tile manufacturer, a brewery and a medical clinic, GEALAN tested the practical application of ISO 14031 at various branches and company sizes.

What does ISO 14031 have to offer?

• It lets one concentrate on what's important: quantifying all environmental aspects for interested parties.
• It prepares a periodic improvement process, and is a practical aid in starting an environmental management system (as preparation for ISO 14001 and/or EMAS certification).
• It offers a supplement to ISO 14001 and EMAS due to its classification of environmental aspects.
• It helps measure the results.
• It is ideally suited for smaller businesses, thanks to its low demand on finances and personnel.
• It makes environmental control possible for small businesses.