Survey Factors of Implementation of Environmental management system(EMS) , ISO 14001by Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) (Case study: ARAK SMEs)

ISO 14001 has attracted interest from industry, international organizations and governments around the globe. ISO14001 standards are designed to help organizations to establish management processes for controlling and improving their environmental performance and for reducing the impact of their operations on the environment. An empirical study using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was carried out to find the relative weights and priorities of these critical success factors and benefits The study was carried out in the SMEs ARAK which includes 190 companies; the results of the study indicate that the critical success factors in the order of importance are as follows: management approach, organizational change, technical aspects, and external and social aspects. The results of the study also indicate the benefits that can be obtained by the implementation of ISO 14001: improvement inthe company’s image and reputation, improvement in company’s processes and profits, improvement in customer loyalty and trust, and improvement in staff morale and employere employee relations.