Green Dragon

The Green Dragon Standard is a stepped standard recognising effective environmental management. The Standard offers an environmental management system relevant to the specific needs of your company and rewards actions taken to achieve environmental improvements.

For many companies, the attainment of a formal environmental management system such as ISO 14001 can be very daunting, and in some cases not relevant to their current business needs. Many organisations aspiring to ISO 14001 do not receive any recognition for the steps that they have made along the way and if they don't achieve all the elements for certification, then they have nothing to show for their efforts. This is where the Green Dragon Environmental Standard plays an important part.

There are five levels of the standard, with each step contributing towards acheivement of the International and European environmental standards, ISO 14001 and EMAS. During the appraisal and audit processes for the Green Dragon Standard, there is an evaluation of costs as well as environmental performance - this means that at each stage the company will have an outline environmental management system that relates to its bottom line.

The five levels of the Green Dragon Standard are

Assessment to the Standard involves completion of an application form and a site audit by a Green Dragon Standard Authorised Auditor.

Companies achieving any level of the Green Dragon Standard receive a certificate demonstrating the level of the company's achievements and commitment to environmental management. Companies achieving levels 3,4 and 5 also receive a plaque and are able to display the Green Dragon logo on their stationery and marketing materials. Displaying the Green Dragon logo demonstrates to customers and other interested parties that the company is committed to environmental management. Companies who have reached Level 5 may be successful in obtaining ISO 14001 or EMAS

Each company achieving the Green Dragon Standard will feature on the Green dragon website. The website contains a register of certified companies which can be used by customers (and potential customers) wishing to verify the environmental credentials of their suppliers and also by participating companies to network with other companies and share knowledge and experiences.

Any business or organisation can apply and funding may be available to help attain the standard. If you would like more information or would like to apply, contact ARENA Network or email enquiries@greendragonems.com