What international standards are 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' measured against?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), develops standards to ensure consistent design, manufacturing, engineering and other product and service standards for the global marketplace. Both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 can apply to the production and/or recycling of printer consumables, such as printer cartridges.
ISO 9001 is a quality standard - meaning that the accredited product is of a certain minimum performance standard and that it will do the job for which it was bought, however, ISO 9000 standards DO NOT measure any environmental impacts, standards or indicators.
ISO 14001 is a standard for "environmental management" - meaning that the organisation in question has systems that minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities.
Close The Loop®, Planet Ark's resource recovery partner, is ISO 9001 certified and is in the (long and involved) process of 14001 certification - it expects to achieve this by June 2009. Click here
for more info on these ISO standards.
