1985	BS 5750	The first national standard for quality management systems. Developed by BSI as a standard for the UK. Later used as a model for the international quality standard ISO 9000.
1987	BS EN ISO 9001/2	European Commission (EC) adopts ISO 90001/2 as a European Standard. European Standards have the status of national standards in member countries such as the UK.
1990	EMAS consultation document	EC develops its own EMS standard called the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) regulations. They are released as a consultation document.
1992	Rio Earth Summit	Close to 200 heads of state meet in Rio de Janeiro for the Earth Summit. The summit generates a commitment to protection of the environment across the world.
	BS 7750	First national standard for EMS. Developed by BSI in response to the need for a uniform system of environmental management. Gives organisations a model for developing and implementing an EMS. Written to be compatible with EMAS, which is still under development.
1993	EMAS adopted	After many modifications, the scheme is adopted as a regulation (Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1863/93) by the EC. EC countries given 21 months to implement regulations.
1995	EMAS	EMAS regulations come into force. Any company operating an industrial site within the EU can apply to register that site under EMAS. Unlike BS 7750, EMAS requires the production of an "environmental statement" which has to be publicly available and contains information about a site's environmental performance.
1996	BS EN ISO 14001	ISO 14001 formally adopted as an international standard for EMS. It is a generic system that can be used by all types and sizes of organisation whether in the commercial, service or industrial sectors. The standard describes the main requirements for environmental management that are necessary for third-party certification to the standard.
1997	BS 7750 withdrawn (supersceded by ISO 14000)
1998	Changes to EMAS proposed by EC
1998	ISO discusses making ISO 9001/2 more compatible with ISO 14001