ISO14001 Consultants are subject matter experts both on the steps that organizations take to minimise their impact on the environment, and on environmental management standards.  That means they know how businesses work, how they can best identify and rate their environmental impacts, and the management systems that allow them to reduce these.  

They are also subject matter experts on environmental legislation and help organizations to identify and retain evidence of compliance with all applicable environmental legislation relevant to their operation.  They also understand fully what it takes to achieve ISO14001:2015 Certification.

They have gained experience across a number of business areas through many years working at the front line, helping organizations to reduce the environmental impact they have, based on their unique environmental aspects.  They can therefore quickly identify focus areas for organizations, that will both help them reduce their impact, achieve ISO14001, and develop programs for continued environmental impact reduction. Good consultants understand and can articulate the link between the environment and business growth, and the importance of measuring environmental improvement.  

The expert knowledge required to implement ISO14001 could be attained by internal staff.  However, the cost to achieve the same competence level as an external consultant is considered prohibitive by most organizations, given that the implementation project is always going to be short-term.  Organizations therefore make the decision to use external consultants.

There are other additional benefits from the use of an external ISO14001 Consultant that organizations do not always consider at the outset.  These include the instant benchmarking that the consultant brings to the organization, where the organization learns Best Practice from others that the consultant has seen.  There are also potential networking opportunities and contacts that the consultant may have, and the knowledge of what would be acceptable to certification bodies. 

Many organizations also retain the services of the ISO14001 Consultant post certification, due to their knowledge of the organization and the implemented systems, to assist with maintaining the environmental management systems on an ongoing basis.  This utilises the knowledge the consultant has built-up through the course of the project, reduces spend on internal resource, and ensures ongoing recertification.