Businesses of all sizes across all industry sectors can have a huge impact on the world around us - you don't have to be an oil company or a multinational fast food chain to damage the environment through waste, pollution, and general carelessness. As a business owner, it's your responsibility not only to ensure the profitability of your organisation but also to minimise the environmental impact of your day-to-day operations.

One of the best ways to make sure that your business is as green as possible is to plan and implement an environmental management system (EMS) within your organisation. A good EMS will control your energy consumption, your use of natural resources, and your handling of waste and refuse, all while helping you to keep your business running smoothly.

Here are just a few reasons to implement an environmental management system and get your company ISO 14001 certified:

• Minimise the environmental impact of your organisation
• Save money by driving down your energy usage and reducing waste
• Streamline the way you handle and dispose of waste
• Verify that your business complies with the latest environmental legislation

ISO 14001 certification can even make it easier to access insurance cover. If you'd like to find out how NPT Management Systems can help you to plan your EMS and gain ISO 14001 certification, please contact us today to discuss your requirements with an expert.

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Last month, credit reporting agency Equifax reported a data breach that exposed the personal data of more than 100 million consumers. This would be worrying enough on its, but perhaps the most alarming part of this story is the fact that the attack in question reportedly began back in May, but wasn't observed until late July.

Among the information affected by security breach were people's:

• Names
• Birth dates
• Addresses
• Card details

The fallout from this incident has been catastrophic for Equifax. A number of lawsuits have been filed against the company, and Equifax shares dropped by 13% the after the news broke. The breach is still being closely followed by media outlets internationally, and the former Equifax CEO Richard Smith has even appeared in front of the United States Congress.

All of this demonstrates yet again that information security is an absolutely critical concern for businesses in the 21st century. Even small enterprises should take data security very seriously, ideally implementing a strong information security management system (ISMS) and seeking ISO 27001 certification to ensure that robust security processes are in place.

If you are looking to achieve ISO 27001 certification, please contact NPT Management Systems today for expert advice and assistance with planning and implementing your ISMS.

Flomatik Network Services have been a client of ours for a number of years. We help them with their ISO 9001 certification and ISO 27001 accreditation.

Now we have helped Flomatik to achieve yet another milestone: we assisted in the planning and implementation of their new company-wide environmental management system, and we were very pleased to learn that they had successfully achieved ISO 14001 certification via a UKAS-accredited body.

Flomatik are an established UK-based network services company who work with a number of major network operators, technology vendors and engineering companies to design, build and operate the next generation of networks. Having already implemented a successful quality management system (QMS) and an effective information security management system (ISMS), Flomatik were keen to improve their processes further by instating an ISO 14001-compliant environmental management system (EMS) to reduce their environmental impact and minimise waste throughout the organisation. NPT Management Systems provided advice and assistance throughout this process, ensuring that Flomatik would realise their goal of achieving ISO 14001 accreditation.

Here's what Paul Upshall, Flomatik's Head of Business Operations, had to say about the help we provided:

Flomatik have been using NPT for several years and have enjoyed outstanding levels of service from Neil and associates. With Neil's help, we have established and maintained robust quality management systems that consistently impress both our customers and auditors. Working with NPT, we have introduced 27001 and 14001 in less than two years.

Neil's practical, professional approach is reflected through the organisation, maximising efficiency of delivery and cost savings.

Our journey with NPT will continue as we transition to the latest standards and introduce a fully-integrated QMS.

If you're looking to gain ISO certification, contact NPT Management Systems today for professional advice from experienced ISO consultants.