The number of businesses certified under ISO14001 rose six per cent last year with Chinese companies leading the growth of the global environmental management standard.
More than 267,000 organisations across 158 countries are now accredited, according to figures published last week. They follow reports from earlier this year that the number of certified companies had quadrupled since 2008.
Almost 82,000 Chinese companies have qualified for the standard, of which over 12,200 were accredited during 2011. Italy saw the second highest growth, adding 3,945 companies during 2011, followed by France on 2,520, Romania on 2,139, South Korea on 1,244, and the UK with 885 companies.
Overall, the UK has 15,231 companies accredited, placing it fifth worldwide behind China, Japan, Italy, and Span. The US is 10th with just under 5,000 companies signed up in total, although North America experienced an 18 per cent rise in ISO14001 certification during 2011 – the highest regional growth.
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