Choosing an ISO 14001 Partner: Certify vs. Kellerman

Two Firms, One Decision

Comparing ISO 14001 consultants usually means comparing brochures. Every firm claims deep expertise and a proven process, and none of that tells you much. This article skips the brochure language and looks at two specific firms, Certify Consulting and Kellerman Consulting, and what actually differs between them: cost, timeline, delivery model, and the kind of facility each one fits best.

I'm Jared Clark, Principal Consultant at Certify Consulting. I'll be upfront: I run one of these firms, so I have a stake in how you read this. I'll give you real numbers and real tradeoffs instead of a pitch, because picking the wrong fit costs you months of rework, not just money.

What an ISO 14001 Consultant Is Actually Hired to Do

Strip away the marketing language and the job comes straight from the standard itself. ISO 14001:2015 clause 4.3 requires you to define the scope of your environmental management system, including internal and external issues and interested party requirements. Clause 6.1.2 requires you to identify the environmental aspects of your activities, products, and services, and determine which ones are significant. Clause 9.2 requires internal audits at planned intervals. Clause 10.2 requires you to correct nonconformities and fix the root cause, not just the paperwork around it.

A consultant's job is to help you satisfy those clauses in a way that reflects how your facility actually runs, not a template with your logo pasted on top.

That distinction is really the whole comparison. Both a specialist environmental firm and a broad multi-standard firm can produce a compliant-looking management system on paper. The difference shows up eighteen months later, at your first surveillance audit, when you find out how much of the maintenance burden landed back on your team.

The Audit Process Doesn't Change, No Matter Who You Hire

Here's something neither firm controls: the certification audit itself. Certification bodies accredited under ISO/IEC 17021-1 run a two-stage initial audit. Stage 1 reviews your documented system and your readiness for Stage 2. Stage 2 assesses whether the system is actually implemented and working. Once certified, your certificate is valid for three years, with surveillance audits in years one and two and a full recertification audit in year three.

Any consultant works inside this same framework. What differs is how they prepare you for it, and how much of the system survives on its own once the certificate is issued.

Cost, Timeline, and Delivery Model: The Numbers Buyers Actually Need

This is the part most comparison articles skip. Here's what I can tell you honestly.

At Certify Consulting, I quote engagements based on facility complexity, not a flat rate. These are the ranges I give prospective clients during a scoping call:

*Ranges cover consulting fees only, not the certification body's own audit fees. Final cost depends on how much of the legal register and aspects work your internal team can carry versus how much the consultant does.

Delivery model matters as much as price. At Certify, I lead every engagement myself, start to finish. You're not handed off to a junior associate once the contract is signed. That's a deliberate choice on my part, and it means my bench is one experienced consultant rather than a rotating team.

Kellerman Consulting doesn't publish standard rates, and to be fair, most firms with a broad service catalog don't. Ask them directly for a scoped quote before comparing it to the table above. Kellerman operates as a multi-consultant firm, with consultants typically assigned by standard or industry specialty across its ISO 9001, ISO 14001, AS9100, BRCGS, and SQF practice areas. That structure can mean more bench depth across standards. It can also mean less continuity with a single consultant who knows your facility's history by the time year three's recertification audit comes around.

How Certify Consulting Approaches ISO 14001

I start every engagement with the environmental aspects register. In my view, it's the one document that decides whether an EMS is real or decorative.

If the register doesn't reflect what's actually happening on your floor, in your wastewater, in your air permits, and in your supply chain, nothing built on top of it holds up under audit. We build implementation as a structured process, not a document dump.

A typical engagement produces:

• An environmental aspects and impacts register mapped to clause 6.1.2
• A legal and other requirements register mapped to clause 6.1.3
• An EMS manual and procedure set scoped to clause 4.3's boundaries
• An internal audit program satisfying clause 9.2
• A corrective action process satisfying clause 10.2

Where a facility already manages quality or safety under ISO 9001 or ISO 45001, we look hard at integration. That usually means one set of procedures instead of three separate binders nobody reads consistently.

This integration focus extends into ESG reporting. More facilities are being asked by customers, lenders, or investors to show environmental performance beyond the certificate itself. An EMS built with clause 6.1.2's aspects-and-impacts data already structured feeds ESG reporting more cleanly than one built only to pass an audit. We also work with renewable energy facilities specifically, where aspects like land use, construction and operational emissions, and decommissioning impact carry different weight than they do in a standard manufacturing plant.

How Kellerman Consulting Approaches ISO 14001

Kellerman Consulting has built its reputation as a multi-standard, multi-industry consultancy. Its practice spans:

• ISO 9001 (quality management)
• ISO 14001 (environmental management)
• AS9100 (aerospace quality)
• BRCGS (food safety)
• SQF (Safe Quality Food)

That breadth is a real strength for a specific kind of client. Picture a food manufacturer pursuing BRCGS certification alongside ISO 14001. That client often wants one firm managing the whole relationship instead of coordinating between two or three specialists.

The tradeoff is worth asking about directly, no matter which firm you're evaluating: how deep does the bench go on the specific standard you need, against how wide is the firm's overall catalog? A firm supporting a dozen certification schemes needs either a large team of standard-specific specialists or consultants who flex across programs. Neither answer is wrong on its face. It's just a fair question to put to any firm before you sign.

Certify Consulting vs. Kellerman Consulting: Side-by-Side

Neither column is a verdict. It's a map. Where you land depends on what your facility actually needs certified, and what else is already on your plate.

Which Firm Fits Which Facility

• You're building or overhauling an EMS from scratch, possibly alongside ISO 9001 or ISO 45001. A firm built specifically around environmental management and integration tends to pay off here. Your aspects register, legal requirements register, and operational controls need to talk to each other across standards, not sit in separate binders.

• You need BRCGS or SQF certification and ISO 14001 in the same cycle. This is Kellerman's clearest strength. It's a legitimate reason to consider a firm with established food-safety-scheme experience, rather than treating the environmental piece as an afterthought bolted onto a food safety engagement.

• You're a renewable energy facility, or your environmental performance is tied to ESG disclosure obligations. This is where clause 6.1.2's aspects data and external reporting frameworks connect most directly. Ask any consultant you're evaluating how their EMS documentation maps onto whatever ESG framework your investors or customers are asking about.

• You're a smaller, single-site facility that needs a straightforward path to certification. The deciding factor here is less about firm philosophy and more about who actually shows up. Will the consultant walk your floor, or will the engagement get managed remotely through a junior team member? Ask that question directly before signing, and get the answer in writing.

Specialist or Generalist: The Real Tradeoff

I'll be honest about where I land, because pretending to be neutral would be its own kind of dishonesty. I think an EMS built by someone who lives inside ISO 14001's clause structure every day tends to be more resilient than one built as a single line item in a firm managing a dozen certification schemes.

But that's a genuine tradeoff, not a one-sided win. A facility juggling food safety and environmental certification at the same time has a real efficiency argument for consolidating vendors, even if the environmental piece gets slightly less specialized attention as a result.

The test isn't which firm has the better logo. It's which firm's methodology matches the actual gap in your facility's environmental management system right now. You can see how that plays out in practice by reviewing documented engagement examples rather than taking my word for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Certify Consulting or Kellerman Consulting better for ISO 14001 certification?

It depends on your facility's broader certification needs and budget. Certify Consulting focuses on environmental management systems, typically runs $15,000 to $75,000 depending on facility complexity, and is led directly by one senior consultant start to finish. Kellerman Consulting is a multi-standard firm with particular strength in food safety schemes like BRCGS and SQF alongside ISO 14001, scoped and priced per engagement. A food manufacturer juggling both food safety and environmental certification may lean toward a generalist; a manufacturer building an integrated EMS from scratch may lean toward a specialist.

What does an ISO 14001 consultant actually do?

An ISO 14001 consultant helps a facility build and implement an environmental management system that satisfies ISO 14001:2015, including determining scope under clause 4.3, identifying environmental aspects and impacts under clause 6.1.2, establishing internal audit processes under clause 9.2, and building corrective action processes under clause 10.2. The consultant typically prepares the facility for the Stage 1 and Stage 2 certification audits conducted by an accredited certification body.

How much does ISO 14001 certification consulting cost?

At Certify Consulting, single-site facilities building an EMS from scratch typically run $15,000 to $35,000 in consulting fees, facilities integrating with an existing ISO 9001 or ISO 45001 system typically run $10,000 to $25,000, and multi-site or heavily regulated facilities can run $35,000 to $75,000 or more. These figures cover consulting fees only, not the certification body's separate audit fees. Kellerman Consulting doesn't publish standard rates; request a scoped quote directly.

How long does ISO 14001 certification take?

Timelines vary by facility complexity, but the certification audit itself follows a fixed structure: a Stage 1 documentation and readiness audit, followed by a Stage 2 implementation audit, both conducted by a body accredited under ISO/IEC 17021-1. Consulting engagements to prepare for that audit typically run 3 to 12 months depending on facility size and how much infrastructure already exists. Once certified, the certificate is valid for three years, with surveillance audits in years one and two and a full recertification audit in year three.

Does Kellerman Consulting only work with food manufacturers?

No. Kellerman Consulting supports certification across multiple standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and AS9100, in addition to food safety schemes like BRCGS and SQF. It's frequently associated with food manufacturing clients because of its visibility in the BRCGS consultant space, but its practice isn't limited to that industry.

Where to Go From Here

Whichever firm you choose, ask the same three things before you sign: how they'll build your environmental aspects register, how the system will integrate with whatever else your facility already manages, and what happens to the system once the engagement ends and the next surveillance audit comes due.

If you want to see how Certify Consulting structures that work, look at how we run an implementation engagement. Either way, get the pricing, the timeline, and the delivery model in writing before anyone signs anything.

Last updated: 2026-09-28