The number of companies achieving environmental certification ISO14001 has risen four-fold since 2008, according to a leading assessment company.

Certification International said it has also seen further growth since the beginning of the year as companies treat meeting environmental and social responsibility requirements with increasing importance.

Emma Fawcett-Jones, the company’s UK business manager, said businesses are also keen to put in place procedures that ensure environmental performance is integrated into management systems and that performance continues to improve.

“In an increasingly competitive market place, to be seen as a trusted organisation is critical and a certification mark is valuable and distinctive,” she added.

“We believe the significant increase in demand for certification can be attributed to companies seeing the benefits of conforming to internationally recognised standards… Undergoing the process of independent assessment and certification ensures that products, services and processes meet required standards for the benefit of staff and customers.”

ISO14001 has been hailed as the world’s most successful environmental standard and there are now 250,000 organisations certified across 155 countries, including a host of high-profile firms.

The standard is currently being revised by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), with the new version coming into effect in 2015 and running into the 2020s.

A poll of over 1,600 environment professionals conducted by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) ahead of the next ISO meeting in Thailand at the end of this month, found overwhelming support for a requirement to integrate environmental considerations into strategic decision-making.

IEMA members also supported greater emphasis on lifecycle impacts, strengthened legal compliance, and more awareness of environmental risk in the revised standard.

“Environment professionals are ambitious and realistic. They want a revised standard that not only delivers greater environmental improvements and helps organisations to meet growing environmental challenges, but also enables more businesses to participate,” said Martin Baxter, IEMA executive director and UK lead representative for the ISO14001revisions.

“For ISO14001 to maintain its relevance in a world where environmental challenges are growing, it’s vital that the standard is strengthened, and growing numbers of organisations use it to manage their environmental risks and opportunities.”