KUALA SELANGOR: Highway concessionaires have been urged to conform to the ISO 14000 certification to ensure that their operations meet the international standards on environmental management.
Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) director-general Datuk Ismail Md Salleh said the ISO 14000 provided a framework on environmental quality that would go a long way in enhancing the image of the certificate holders.
“All highway concessionaires in the country should aspire to preserve the environment, more so for their operations are subjected to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
“Concessionaires need two years to integrate ISO 14000 if they are committed to obtaining the certification,” he told reporters after attending the prize-giving ceremony of the KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway’s (Latar) corporate social responsibility programme here yesterday.
Ismail said the concessionaires were duty bound to protect the environment not only during the construction of highways, but also after they were opened to traffic, including while carrying out repair works.
Ismail said the concessionaires must ensure that the disposal of restaurant waste at rest and recreation areas abided by the standards for environmental preservation.
So far only MHA and the North-South Expressway (PLUS) have acquired the ISO 14000 certification, he said, adding that MHA was also striving to get ISO 18000 governing occupational health and safety by year-end.
“We are striving to reduce risks or zero accident and death in our operations,” he added. — Bernama