Setting up ISO 14001 for the House of Dorchester.
The House of Dorchester makes a range of hand-made chocolate products for some of the UK’s leading hotels, restaurants, shops and venues and are now enjoyed around the world. In line with its premium position as a chocolatiere and supplier to royalty, the company decided that ISO 14001 environmental management certification would help to establish its credentials as a sustainable business. The HSQE Department was introduced to the House of Dorchester through the government-sponsored “Improve Your Resource Efficiency” programme, as an ISO 14001 consultant specialising in the needs of small to medium-sized businesses.
The challenge
The House of Dorchester wanted to implement ISO 14001 within three months, which is a demanding schedule. The company’s appointed Management Representative needed to be in a position to administer their ISO 14001 environmental management system after certification but, whilst she was enthusiastic about the project, she had limited knowledge of the standard and was heavily involved in other projects.
The solution
Our consultant developed an implementation schedule for ISO 14001 that also served as a training programme for the Management Representative and provided evidence for an internal audit programme. The senior management team was involved through-out and was briefed on the completed system during the company’s first ISO 14001 Management Review meeting. Being in the food industry, the Management Representative was familiar with assessment visits from certification bodies and, because of the training that she had received from the consultant, she was confident to manage certification without additional support from the HSQE Department.
What our client said
‘The HSQE Department was an integral part in implementing ISO14001 within the company in a short timescale. Our consultant ensured that the documents / systems required worked within the current systems, showing flexibility to meet the needs of the company as well as the ISO14001 standard. Throughout the process, The HSQE Department continuously ensured that the relevant members of staff were trained accordingly to ensure the continuous monitoring and implementation of the standard. The HSQE Department supported the company throughout the process, making the process of implementing and obtaining ISO14001 an easy and successful hurdle.’
Thank you for your helping with all the implementation of the standard – I definitely could not have done it without you.
JR – Technical Manager
