Influence of the perception of the external environmental pressures on obtaining the ISO 14001 standard in Spanish industrial companies

The aim of this paper is to analyse the influence of external environmental pressures on the decision to obtain certification to the ISO 14001 standard. An assumption of the authors includes recognizing that certification is one step toward environmental excellence and Total Quality Environmental Management (TQEM). We focus exclusively on the ISO 14001 norm when talking about environmental management systems certification, since we have detected a predominance of this standard in Spanish industrial companies as compared with registration to 1836/93 Regulations or the EMAS register. We have found that some of the external pressures are a restriction for the companies, but others can become an opportunity in those companies having the intention to improve their environmental control and prevention activities. The results of our studies show that companies that perceive the environmental regulations as restrictions carry out environmental control practices in order to comply with environmental requirements. These practices are not enough to improve the company image or waste reuse. Basically, when managers perceive the influence of external environmental pressures as opportunities, more advanced environmental actions are implemented to obtain ISO certification.