As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another—proverb

Have you ever butted heads with someone and yet valued it an inspiring experience? And while you may have very well left the encounter exhausted, you also left satisfied, dare I say even regenerated by it— equipped with new knowledge, enhanced insight and increased sensitivity?  

Those gems of experiences are rare but indeed filled with immense value. The patterns, regardless of the specific parties involved, often remain quite similar: vested interests at play and a dynamic at times fraught with tension gently giving way to an overarching aim of producing meaningful results.  

And so, as iron hits iron, each becomes stronger.

This proverb crossed my mind recently as I considered the heavy commitment of our team members, their dedication and involvement in a three year long process to secure IS0 14001: 2004 certification for the environmental management system at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) hub in Paris, France.

The process put two great international entities, FedEx and the International Standards Organization (ISO), in a rigorous encounter of lengthy assessments, meticulous audits, high quality implementation plans and a commitment to continually improve our operational capacities. When FedEx CDG hub successfully received the IS0 14001: 2004 this April, we could celebrate a team commitment to environmental sustainability that was as strong as iron delivering concrete benefits to our company and the environment: a real win-win situation!

Certainly, ISO certification lends credibility to FedEx brand and reputation. But it does much more than that as it has garnered a wide range of benefits for the company including:
·      Greener work processes for our company
·      Identification of ways to better use energy and resources
·      Recognition of FedEx commitment to sound environmental management
·      Access to companies demanding IS0 14001 certification

The process itself has also proven beneficial. Securing ISO certification rallied the CDG team in a spirit of camaraderie and offered a shared platform from which a wide array of environmental enhancements could be showcased and built upon.

The International Standards Organization equally benefits from this FedEx achievement; certification of an international hub of CDG’s magnitude highlights the standard’s relevance to the transport sector. Our competitors have taken note of this FedEx accomplishment. The prestigious ISO 14001: 2004 certification of the CDG hub complements the same success earned for 50 FedEx facilities in the UK since 2008.  More importantly, our customers and employees are impressed by the FedEx track record of success.

By reaching this important milestone and communicating it with others, we have helped make ISO certification and environmental sustainability an increasingly relevant cornerstone of business practices. I applaud and thank the FedEx team for their three year investment in this worthy endeavor.