The ISO Show

The demand for tangible sustainability action is becoming more pressing as we inch closer to our 2030 and 2050 Net Zero targets.  However, that is still quite a way off, and many businesses are dragging their feet when it comes to taking action. Sure, some may have an ESG Policy or mention it on their website, however that term is starting to become synonymous with green washing due to poor implementation in many cases.  So, what can you do to make a difference right now? In this weeks’ episode Mel explains the principle of Parkinson’s law, how ISO Standards can help to tackle climate change and how you can achieve Net Zero in just 90 days.  You’ll learn ·       What Parkinson’s Law is ·       How can ISO standards help tackle climate change ·       The 3 reasons why businesses are behind on achieving net zero ·       How you can achieve Net Zero in just 90 days using the Net Zero Planner   Resources ●      Carbonology ●      Register for EMEX here ●      Grab a copy of our Net Zero Planner   In this episode, we talk about: [00:25] Come visit the Carbonology stand at EMEX! – EMEX is a free exhibition to learn about carbon management, ESG and sustainability. It takes place at ExCeL London on 22nd – 23rd November 2023 – Carbonology will be at Stand G38. Come grab a free Net Zero Planner while you’re there! Register your place here. [02:10] Episode Summary – Today we’ll be talking about why we need to act now rather than in a decade or two, how ISO Standards can play a critical role in tackling climate change and using the Net Zero Planner to help you set achievable objectives to work towards Net Zero in just 90 days.     [02:55]  We need to act now rather than later! – Our 2030 and 2050 targets are very far away, which results in businesses not doing much to address them in the meantime. They might have an ESG policy or they might have something referencing ESG on their website, but are they actually taking action right now to make that happen? In many cases, no. Which is where Parkinson’s Law comes into play. [03:40] What is Parkinson’s Law? Parkinson's Law is the idea that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. This may mean you take longer than necessary to complete a task or you procrastinate and complete the task right before the due date. Parkinson's Law is the old adage that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. The term was first coined by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in a humorous essay he wrote for “The Economist” in 1955. Lets say you are given a task to complete a report in 3 weeks, chances are if you were given the task to do in 1 week – you’d make it happen. Parkinson's Law says that the perceived importance and difficulty of a task will grow in proportion to the amount of time given to finish it. [05:30] Is it possible to achieve Net Zero in 2024?: Yes! Carbonology® been turning around projects to help businesses to build net carbon neutral in less than three months -  so why can’t you? [06:05] The Net Zero Planner -  The Net Zero in 90 days planner gives you a pathway to follow to achieve Net Carbon Zero. Each day focuses on a specific task, enabling you to make step by step progress to achieve your goals. Your Net Zero Planner provides the foundations for not only achieving Net Zero but also achieving verification to Carbon standards along the way. Grab a copy here! [08:25] What role do ISO Standards play in tackling climate change? Standards have a critical role in helping meet climate goals. Particularly when there is an influx of greenwashing across industries. The international standards for carbon verification (ISO 14064) and carbon neutrality (PAS 2060, due to be ISO 14064 in 2024) support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and create a level playing field, providing transparency, reliability, accountability and without a doubt, credibility. [10:00] Why are businesses struggling to achieve Net Zero? there are three reasons why businesses are behind on achieving Net Zero:- ·       Time and resources have not been dedicated. ·       Lack of focus and structure ·       Lack of knowledge on what to do The Net Zero Planner will help to address these challenges. [11:15] Carbonology is there to support you – Some of the tasks in the planner may be tricky – quantifying your emissions for example, this is always going to be challenging. Carbonology is there to support you, either with consultancy or digital resources via the Carbonologyhub. If you need some extra assistance, simply contact them. [11:55] How can the Net Zero Planner help you? –  First and foremost, Net zero is not going to happen, unless you prioritise your time. This starts with designing your ideal week. Imagine how would you structure your week if you had 100% control. What does your ideal week look like? Remember, What gets scheduled gets done.  Sticking to a plan takes discipline, but imagine if every business dedicated 2 hours a day for 3 months, we’d be achieving net zero well before 2050! By setting aside 2 hours a day to complete a Net Zero task, you and your team will be well equipped to put your planning in place and achieve Net Zero accreditation! Of course, not every week will be aligned with your ideal week, but it’s a guide that you can refer back to.  [13:00] Making progress with the Net Zero Planner -  It’s imperative you review progress on a weekly and monthly basis and at the end of the 9O days. This will help to drive momentum when you see what you’ve achieved and also provide a reality check if you need additional support or time. The weekly, monthly and quarterly review provides an opportunity to look back at your progress and allows you time to reflect on what went well, and where you’ve been having challenges which may result in making decisions to address any shortfalls.  This could include allowing more time for a specific task the following week, delegating responsibilities internally or outsourcing activities i.e. carbon quantification or verification. It's recommended that you schedule this review and reflection time in your calendar i.e. 1 hour on a Friday afternoon or at the end of the month. In addition to the structured planner pages, there are blank pages for expanding on your ideas and taking notes. [15:25] Special Deal! -  The Net Zero Planner is available for Amazon at a reduced price of £7.99 until the 15th December 2023. The Standard price will be £14.99. If you’re at EMEX on the 22nd or 23rd November 2023, we have 100 free copies to give away! Lastly, if you have an questions or would like to learn more about how Carbonology can help you, feel free to book a call in via David’s Calendly. We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how: ●      Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●      Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

Sustainability has become a top topic to address in the last few years, both for businesses and individuals. In fact, 90% of business leaders think sustainability is important, but only 60% actually have a sustainability Strategy. The demand for tangible action is becoming more pressing as we inch close to the 2030 milestone of the Paris Agreement. To encourage action from businesses, we’re seeing more public and private sector contracts include a tendering requirement to show your commitment to sustainability. One such example is the need for a PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plan. In this weeks’ episode David Algar, Principal Carbonologist® at Carbonology, joins Mel to explain how to create a Carbon Reduction Plan, shares some top tips on presentation and how Carbonology® can support you. You’ll learn ·       How to create a Carbon Reduction Plan ·       How Carbonology® can help you align that plan with ISO 14064 and PAS 2060 ·       Addressing difficult tendering questions ·       How to best present your Carbon Reduction Plan Resources ●      Carbonology ●      Book a call with David Algar ●      A quick Guide to creating your PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plan   In this episode, we talk about: [00:24] What are PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plans? – Go back and listen to our previous episode to learn more.   [00:42] Episode Summary – Today we’ll be talking about how to create a Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP), how to deal with difficult tendering questions and the best ways in which to present your CRP.    [02:46]  How do you actually calculate the emissions? We have gone into this in a lot more detail on a previous episode, but to summarise:- Emissions are calculated by taking your activity data, such as kWh of electricity, or miles driven in a vehicle, and multiplying it by an emission conversion factor. Specific emission conversion factors are available from DEFRA for specific activity data, they are also year-specific. The hard part is sourcing your activity data, accounting for missing information, performing estimates, and ensuring the overall methodology is accurate. This is all done in alignment with ISO1464-1, as well as the PPN guidelines, so one of the very first things we’ll do with you is define your organisational and reporting boundaries, [05:27] How can a business set carbon reduction targets and forecast emissions? This is tricky as it involves trying to predict the future, not just in the short term, but potentially several decades ahead depending on your goal.   The good thing is you know the end destination of your carbon pathway: little to no emissions by 2050. Using this and some simple maths you can at least map out where you should be each year when moving forward from the base year, the base year being the period you use to compare future results against. Usually the base year is the first year you complete calculations, but this can change over time. We’re finding some clients are opting to change their base year to account for the disruption of COVID-19 on operations [06:40] How do you actually set the targets?: When we look at target setting and emission forecasts we generally take 2 approaches: Milestones: ·       The first, and our most common approach, is about setting milestones based on specific carbon reduction initiatives the business can implement, at specific dates. ·       For instance, all company vehicles being hybrid by 2025 and fully EV by 2035? Or what if we phased out gas by a certain date? Or cut out all single use plastics? ·       Using this milestone method for the forecasting can be tricky, but you can end up with a carbon pathway that is more representative of real life.  Straight line method: ·       The second is what we refer to as the ‘straight line’ method. This is a simpler approach that involves doing some simple maths to plan out your carbon targets for each year, without factoring in specific milestones or events. ·       We refer to this unofficially as the ‘straight line’ method as the graph showing your carbon pathway is pretty much a straight line from your base year towards net zero, using the milestones method gives a ’bumpy’ line due to the influence of specific milestones at specific years. [08:35] A tip for setting targets for the first time is by thinking ‘what if? This is essentially looking at the thing you’re doing now and replacing it with a more sustainable alternative. For instance, calculating what your business travel emissions would be last year if they were all completed in hybrids, or if domestic flights were replaced by train journeys. Doing these ‘what if?’ calculations is a bit hypothetical as operations are likely to change over the years, but it still helps give you a specific target to aim for a specific GHG sources. [10:40] How can you influence carbon reduction in areas where you have no direct control? Some areas will be out of your control, for instance if you ship goods in from around the world you can’t necessarily decide how they get to you, or if they are transported via more sustainable transport. ·       One thing you can do is aim to set a good example yourself as a business ·       You could also adopt the PPN framework yourself and request it from anyone that is aiming to win your business ·       Another quick win is actually speaking to your suppliers. If you use a local delivery firm you could speak to them about their plans for an electric fleet, or more sustainable packaging. Or if you use a data centre, you could enquire about if is run on renewable energy sources [13:15] But what if we are planning to grow as a business? Results are expected to fluctuate over time, so if they go up after the base year this shouldn’t impact your success or failure in your tender submission. The aim is obviously to decrease on average over time If you know for certain that they will increase in the next few years, for instance through opening new sites, making acquisitions, or just natural growth, that’s ok. You could pick a new base year if operations significantly change as this will give a more realistic figure to work down from. You can also use this as an opportunity to evidence efficiency improvements through intensity metrics, such as your tonnes of carbon per employee, or relative to your revenue.  [15:15] In what other ways can Carbonology help to support you? – Once everyone is happy with the CRP, you’ll then have to actually use it in tenders. The fun thing about tenders is that they can all ask different questions, despite PPN having technical requirements, so you can’t always have the information to hand before submitting one. We can’t write your tender submissions for you, but we can provide guidance and pull out the necessary figures if requested, for instance if you need certain numbers to support with your Social Value Model reporting. [16:20] How can this help on your journey to Carbon Neutrality? –  If you’ve gone through all the hard work to create a PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plan, you’ll be in the ideal position to achieve carbon neutrality of your operations via PAS 2060. The next step would be creating a PAS 2060 Qualifying Explanatory Statement, or QES, which details how you have achieved carbon neutrality through offsetting, and your commitment to maintain this for future reporting periods. [17:25] Where does the verification come into play? If you’ve already calculated your emissions you may be asked to have them independently verified by an independent third party. We’ve recently developed a process so we can check over you GHG calculations, policies, procedure and overall alignment with the standard. As part of this, Carbonology can provide a verification report with all findings and opportunities for improvement, as a well as a verification statement to show you have had emission independently verified in alignment with ISO 14064. For further information, David has prepared a quick guide for creating your PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plan. Feel free to download it here. Lastly, if you have an questions or would like to learn more about how Carbonology can help you, feel free to book a call in via David’s Calendly. We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how: ●      Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●      Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

Sustainability has become one of the main focal points for businesses to address in the last few years, and for good reason! We’re already seeing the devastating effects of simply doing nothing in the form of more extreme weather, occurring much more frequently in areas not equip to handle it.  To encourage action from businesses, we’re seeing more public and private sector contracts include a tendering requirement to show your commitment to sustainability. One such example is the need for a PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plan. In this weeks’ episode David Algar, Principal Carbonologist at Carbonology, joins Mel to explain exactly what PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plans are, what the requirements mean in practice and the consequences if a business does not meet the requirements. You’ll learn ·       What are PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plans? ·       What the requirements mean in practice ·       Benefits to a business ·       What if a business does not meet the requirements? Resources ●      Carbonology ●      Book a call with David Algar ●      A quick Guide to creating your PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plan   In this episode, we talk about: [00:42] Episode Summary - We’re talking about PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plans because there is a government requirement to submit one. This episode will cover the what and why, in part 2 we’ll go into more detail about how to create a Carbon Reduction Plan.    [02:10]  What is a PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plan? Procurement Policy Note 06/21 was introduced back in June 2021, hence the 06/21 part, and is a tendering requirement for companies looking to win contracts in the public sector that links to the Government’s Net Zero target. [02:28] What is the UK government’s Net Zero target? The ‘net zero target’ refers to a government commitment to ensure the UK reduces its emissions by 100% from 1990 levels by 2050.   [02:55] Who does PPN apply to?: Public sector, so any businesses that works with education, local authorities, housing, infrastructure, defence, transit, and of course, the NHS who have set a goal of Net Zero by 2040. Officially this is for contracts that are valued at £5M or more, but in April 2024 the NHS will be requesting a Carbon Reduction Plan for all procurement. Unofficially, this framework could be adopted by any business, so even if you don’t deal directly with the public sector, or are a subcontractor, your supply chain may soon be requesting a Carbon Reduction Plan! [04:05] Why do you need a Carbon Reduction Plan? Although the Government’s targets and policies around Net Zero keep changing, the overall goal of PPN 06/21 is to encourage businesses to reach Net Zero before 2050, come up with a plan to do so, and implement emission reduction initiatives in the delivery of Government contracts. [04:35] From a businesses perspective, what are the main benefits? There are 2 main benefits: ●      It’s essential for some tendering, with as much as a 10% weighting based on your carbon management and social values. Put simply, if you don’t produce one when needed, you may fail the tender requirements and probably won’t make the sale. ●      The second main benefit is that this isn’t just a piece of paper with a graph on it, it’s a great opportunity to investigate your business’ GHG emissions, and put a plan in place to reduce them. This also helps you show to stakeholders that you are actually committed to environmental protection and could identify some cost savings in your business after going through all the data. ●      It’s also a great addition to any existing ISO 14001 or ISO 50001 Management Systems! [06:10] What are the key requirements of PPN 06/21? –    Firstly you’ll need to make a commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 at the latest. This includes annually calculating your emissions and updating the Carbon Reduction Plan. Next you’ll need to report on a minimum set of GHG categories: 100% of your Scope 1 emissions, so direct emission from company vehicles, gas heating (so stuff you burn) and any fugitive emissions, which are leaks from HVAC systems for most businesses. 100% of your Scope 2 emissions which is electricity most of the time but can also refer to steam you import from an external source. You’ll also need to report on 5 Scope 3 categories, these are your indirect emissions: ●      Waste generated in operations ●      Business travel in vehicles you don’t own, so staff cars, flights, trains, etc ●      Commuting, so staff traveling to and from work, being careful not to double count business travel not already claimed under expenses ●      And arguably the most complicated, upstream and downstream transportation, i.e. goods in, and goods out – physical transport of goods [09:50] Are there any other categories covered by scope 3 that we should consider? –  Generally, when we produce a CRP for our clients, we’ll look at a few extra Scope 3 categories such as water, homeworking, or purchased goods, so carbon reduction planning can extend to other elements of the business. In all cases you’ll need to report in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or tCO2e, as this accounts for the global warming potential of multiple GHGs. [11:30] Are there any ISO standards that you can align the Carbon Reduction Plan to? Yes! At Carbonology, we use ISO 14064-1. This sets out a series requirements and guiding principles for the quantification and reporting of emissions. We wouldn’t necessarily have to go all the way to meeting every single requirement of the standard for your CRP but we always align with the key requirement of the standard when completing a CRP. And if you’re lucky we’ll also cover your SECR figures! [12:05] What is SECR? -  Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting. This is mandatory reporting for businesses that are defined as large, so 250+ staff, and 36M turnover or 18M on the balance sheet. [18:20] Asset Management -  In 8.2 there is a consideration for Asset Management on your side. You should take care of any assets relating to the customer, where it’s stored and how it’s being looked after. Standards such as ISO 27001 (Information Security) and ISO 55001 (Asset Management) already have some considerations for this. [13:30] You’ve calculated your GHG results, what’s next?-  Once you’ve calculated emission from the required sources, you’ll then need to look at the carbon reduction side of your Carbon Reduction Plan. To start with you’ll need to outline existing initiatives you have, for instance, a sustainable travel policy, EV charging on site or a hybrid working model. It’s really important that these are relevant to the delivery of the contract you are trying to secure. Next, you’ll need to outline planned future initiatives, but bear in mind, these will need to be realistic and relevant, so no wild claims about buying an EV fleet or going zero waste next week! Once you’ve done all this you can then start looking at carbon reduction forecasts and what the numbers might look like between now and 2050 (or you chosen date. [15:10] Additional PPN 06/21 tips from David:  It will need to be signed off by a director, or equivalent, at your business to demonstrate leadership commitment. If the document isn’t signed off on you may fail on the tender. You’ll need to publish it on your website, making it easy to access. Simple solution to this is just add a link at the bottom of your landing page. And finally, you’ll need to make sure this is kept up to date each year. Reporting for emissions occurs on a 12 monthly basis. This can either be calendar year or your financial year, but ideally, you’ll want to publish the updated version as soon as you can after the year-end, certainly no longer than 6 months after. [16:40] What does a Carbon Reduction Plan look like? - When the government announced this requirement, they also released a template document that businesses can complete. This is to simplify the process for businesses that are reporting on emission for the first time, but more importantly it standardises reporting. However, the template is a bit basic! You’re not marked on presentation, but you can dress it up a little as long as you don’t deviate from the template too much. So feel free to put come company branding on it, make a cover page, change the font, etc. You could also make a ‘full’ version of your CRP that includes further details on boundaries, methodologies and results, just make sure you only submit the template version to tenders. [19:10] What happens if you don’t meet the requirements? - If you don’t meet the requirements without a valid reason, chances are you’ll fail the selection criteria. The selection criteria is a bit like the marking scheme associated with PPN. We can’t say for a fact that this means you’ll subsequently fail the tender, but it will certainly have a negative impact. For further information, David has prepared a quick guide for creating your PPN 06/21 Carbon Reduction Plan. Feel free to download it from the link provided in the Resources section.   Lastly, if you have an questions or would like to learn more about how Carbonology can help you, feel free to book a call in via David’s Calendly. We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how: ●      Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●      Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

Last week we gave you an introduction to ISO 20000, the Service Management Standard. As a refresher, the aim of the standard is to provide a framework for an effective end-to-end service management system which encompasses the entire lifecycle of a service from concept and design, through to service removal and end-of-life. It’s best adopted by businesses who provide a service, particularly those that operate a help / service desk system. For some this may still seem a bit nebulous, especially for those that may not be familiar with Service Management terminology. To help demystify this Standard, we’ve brought Steve back to take a deeper dive into what makes this Standard unique. Join Steve Mason and Mel in this weeks’ episode as they explore Clauses 7 and 8 of ISO 20000 in more detail, and how certain aspects can apply to any business.    You’ll learn ●      What is ISO 20000? ●      What is included in Clause 8 of ISO 20000? ●      How can ISO 20000 apply to any business?   Resources ●      isologyhub ●      ISO 20000   In this episode, we talk about: [00:43] What is ISO 20000? Go back and listen to our previous episode to learn what ISO 20000 is, a brief overview of the key clauses and the benefits of adopting the Service Management Standard.   [02:00]  A recap of the main requirements of the Standard: ·       4.0 Context of the Organisation ·       5.0 Leadership ·       6.0 Planning ·       7.0 Support of Service Management System ·       8.0 Operation of the Service Management System ·       9.0 Performance Evaluation ·       10.0 Improvement Clauses 7 and 8 are where the main differences lie between this Standard and others. It includes requirements for aspects such as: ·       Service Portfolio ·       Relationship Agreements ·       Supply and Demand ·       Service Design and Transition ·       Resolution and Fulfilment [03:15] Similarities with other ISO Standards – Ultimately, this standard in terms of the structure, it looks like any other ISO standard, i.e. we've got context of the organisation, leadership, Planning, performance Evaluation and improvement. These will be familiar if you’ve worked with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 or ISO 27001.  [04:05] Clause 7 –  Support of Service Management System: This is where we’re really looking at the competency awareness communications and documented information required by the standard. In 7.5 there is a really useful list of all the documented information that's required in the management system – one that we wish was included in every ISO Standard! That required documented information doesn’t have to be in writing, it could be on computer or established system. Another key aspect of Clause 7 is Knowledge – this is about ensuring all knowledge is documented and sharable and not just stuck in people’s heads. For Service Management, this may involve the creation of a customer portfolio where you can record any incidents that occur during a service call, and how you dealt with it ect. Competence is also another major component – Make sure people are competent to do their job, i.e. they’ve been trained to do things properly and effectively. [06:40] Different ways of knowledge sharing – Knowledge sharing doesn’t just have to be written down – it could be done via a recorded video. We use Loom a lot at Blackmores to get things across quickly.   There are also a number of service desk tools available that can help you put together process flow diagrams to make things easier to understand. [08:15] Clause 8 – Operation of the Service Management System: Before you do any sort of service management, you need to plan it properly – otherwise, if you fail to plan, you’ll plan to fail. First you need to understand what resources you have, what activities there are in the service management to deliver that service to the customer and ensure that they're coordinated. A top tip from Steve: Separate resources into five groups: people, technology, information, finance and service partners. [09:55] Planning your Service – Now you understand what you’re trying to deliver, it’s time to plan your service. First you want to take a look at the flow of the service through the organisation. Which departments does it go into? Is there good connection between departments? Can you ensure that a customer’s order is going to stay the same through the whole process, you wouldn’t want possibilities for miscommunication to occur. We’d recommend drawing up a flow diagram for this process – just so you can clearly see who is doing and communicating what at any stage. [11:20] Getting Operations in order – once you understand what the process is, you need to begin to control and involve the interested parties within the life cycle of your process. This isn’t just the customer; this also includes confirming what services you’re actually delivering – as you’ll be looking to improve these services as time goes on. You also need to consider the whole service life cycle. This includes things like if a customer wants to move to a different service – how would you deal with that? Have you got a process in place to handle the return of customer assets if they disengage from your services? [12:30] Service Level Agreements: It’s a good idea to establish Service Level Agreements and Delivery Level Agreements early on. This is so you typically know what you are going to be delivering to a customer and how quickly can you deliver it and ensure the whole process is sustainable as well. This will also clarify key accountabilities for everyone involved with delivering a specific service. Clearly defined services – Finally, it also provides a clearly defined service for Salespeople. This avoids the situation where they simply sell what they think sounds good but isn’t backed up by any resources to actually deliver the service they sold. You need to have a clear strategy that sales can use and go out and sell – this may be referred to as a Service Catalogue. [15:18] A Service Catalogue in action -  In Blackmores case, our Service Catalogue is online on our website. We have all the ISO Standards we can assist with listed, in addition to a description of how we can help companies implement an applicable Management System. You don’t have to have all your prices listed out at that stage, that can come later when you have a full view of the customer requirements and agreements are made. [18:20] Asset Management -  In 8.2 there is a consideration for Asset Management on your side. You should take care of any assets relating to the customer, where it’s stored and how it’s being looked after. Standards such as ISO 27001 (Information Security) and ISO 55001 (Asset Management) already have some considerations for this. [19:05] Configuration Management -  Configuration management is understanding how the parts of the service fit, so you don't disassociate them from each other. The Standard asks you to identify what's known as CIS, these are configuration items, and these are all the things that you need to deliver your service. We’ll dig more into this aspect in future content – so keep an eye out! [20:40] A final top tip from Steve:  Collaboration and communication that involves leadership. If you just devolve it down to parties doing the work and just get them to work in silo, it will not work for you. It's a collaborative standard – both inside and outside of the business. [21:20] Resources available -  We’ve got a number of ISO 20000 related resources available on the islogyhub – contact us to learn more!   We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how: ●      Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●      Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

Often seen as the poor cousin to ISO 9001, ISO 20000 Service Management largely gets ignored in favor of the more popular Quality Management Standard. To be fair, it’s title may have done it a disservice in the past. Being known as the IT Service Management Standard prior to 2018, it was often perceived as only applicable to IT service providers, when in actuality it could be adopted by any business! So, what is ISO 20000 exactly? The aim of the standard is to provide a framework for an effective end-to-end service management system which encompasses the entire lifecycle of a service from concept and design, through to service removal and end-of-life. It’s best adopted by businesses who provide a service, particularly those that operate a help / service desk system. In this weeks’ episode, Steve Mason joins Mel to discuss what ISO 20000 is, who can use and benefit from the Standard and how it fits in with other more widely adopted ISO Standards. You’ll learn ●      What is ISO 20000? ●      Who is ISO 20000 designed for? ●      What are the benefits of ISO 20000? ●      A brief overview of the Standard ●      How ISO 20000 integrates with other ISO Standards   Resources ●      isologyhub ●      ISO 20000   In this episode, we talk about: [00:50] Why are we talking about this Standard? We’ve had a lot of interest in a few of our informative videos available on YouTube over the past year, with ISO 20000 content constantly ranking in our top 5 most watched videos every month. [01:00]  ISO 20000-1 was previously known as the ‘IT Service Management Standard’, but since it’s most recent update in 2018, it’s simply known as the ‘Service Management Standard’ now. [03:10] Why is ISO 20000 one of Steve’s favourite Standards? – It takes some of the aspects of quality a step further and actually gives you much clearer detail on how you can improve your management systems. So, if you've got a Service Management System in any way, shape or form, this is the standard to go. It's also one of the easiest standards to audit because there's some very simple questions to ask that can highlight some very obvious weaknesses. This can lead to significant improvement when compared to the likes of ISO 9001. [04:05] What Is ISO 20000? –  ISO20000-1:2018 is a Service Management standard which has evolved from the IT industry and the ITIL Framework for Service Management; but today it can be used in all types of Service Industries particularly where there is a need for a Help Desk / Service Desk system. Some may ask, isn’t this what ISO 9001 can do? In short, no. ISO 9001 will give you a bare framework of how to create a Quality Management System, but it won't give you the fundamental details of how to improve that Service Management System, and that's where ISO 20000 comes in. [05:39] Who is ISO 20000 applicable to? – Any business that provides a service, but more specific examples include: IT Service provider, call centres, gas / electricity providers, retail ect. [07:15] A high level overview of ISO 20000 – This Standard follows the Standard structure that many other ISO Standards follow. The first 3 clauses are all informative, starting from clause 4 we have: ·       4.0 Context of the Organisation ·       5.0 Leadership ·       6.0 Planning ·       7.0 Support of Service Management System ·       8.0 Operation of the Service Management System ·       9.0 Performance Evaluation ·       10.0 Improvement Clause 8.0 is where ISO 20000 fills in the gaps for other Standards, as it covers topics such as: ·       Service Portfolio ·       Relationship and Agreement ·       Supply and Demand ·       Service Design, Build and Transition ·       Resolution ·       Service Assurance [08:20] Familiar to some – Those in Service Management may recognise some of those terms, but may not use that exact wording. For example ‘relationships and agreements’ may be more commonly known as Service Level Agreements and Operating Level Agreements – which can be a business critical area for some. [10:45] What are the benefits of ISO 20000? -  Improve the planning and introduction of services: This standard would help you understand what it is you need to do to introduce that new service, go through the planning, testing through a proper change management system and launch through a release and deployment management system. SLA’s and OLA’s - Achieve Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Operating Level Agreements (OLAs) will be achieved consistently month on month. Reduce Stress - It will help to reduce employee stress as service request, incident and problem queues become manageable. Knowledge articles can be created to document incidents and solutions for future reference. Improved quality of service through continual improvement gained from Incidents and Problem fixes resulting in both time and financial savings. [12:30] ISO 20000 to the rescue -  Steve recounts an experience he had at a company that had an outstanding issue ticket queue of 800. With the introduction of elements of ISO 20000, they we able to reduce this ludicrous amount down to 30! [14:05] A top recommendation -  We’d highly recommend that you consider doing a Gap Analysis against ISO 20000. Even if you have no plans to implement it, you can still benefit from the findings. [14:40] Further resources -  You can purchase the Standard directly from the ISO website. We also have a number of short courses covering specific clauses in ISO 20000, available in the isologyhub. [15:55] How does ISO 20000 fit in with other ISO Standards?-  ISO20000-1:2018 has now been remodelled using the High Level Standard (HLS) framework so that clauses 4 to 7 and 9 to 10 can all be interconnected with only minor differences due to the nature of each standard. Essentially, if you already have ISO9001:2015 or ISO27001:2013 most of the framework for ISO20000-1:2018 will have already been done; all that would be required is to address the service aspects in those six clause before tackling the main work in clause 8. [18:20] Business Continuity -  ISO 20000 specifies a section on ‘service continuity management’ which can neatly slot in with ISO 22301 – the Standard for Business Continuity. While ISO 22301 focuses on the bigger picture, the ISO 20000 element focuses on how a service can continue for a customer during an incident or accident occurring. We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how: ●      Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●      Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

One of the most crucial steps to gaining your ISO certification is the completion of a Stage 1 and Stage 2 assessment, conducted by an accredited Certification Body. A quick reminder - your certification doesn’t mean much if you haven’t received certification from an accredited Certification Body – so make sure you do your research! Businesses going through their final Assessments to gain ISO certification may see any decisions made by Certification Body Assessors as infallible, however there’s still a very human aspect which can lead to some common pitfalls. Last week we dived into the requirements of ISO 17021 – the Conformity Assessment Standard designed for Certification Bodies, and more specifically the requirements in relation to you as a client. In this weeks’ episode, Steve Mason joins Mel once again to share some issues raised by Blackmores’ clients against Certification Bodies, and explains the related rules in ISO 17021 which Certification Bodies should abide by.   You’ll learn ●      What is ISO 17021? ●      Key issues raised by Blackmores’ clients in relation to Certification Bodies ●      Related ISO 17021 requirements   Resources ●      isologyhub ●      ISO 17021   In this episode, we talk about: [00:24] What is ISO 17021? It’s the Conformity Assessment Standard designed for Certification Bodies. In effect, it acts as a service level agreement. These are the rules that these certification bodies need to comply with if they are accredited by an accreditation body like UKAS. Listen to the previous episode to learn more. [01:10] What are we focusing on in this episode? There have been some issues raised by some of our clients time and time again over the last 6 – 8 months.  We want to break some of these issues down, and help listeners to understand what are the actual rules around these areas in relation to ISO 17021. [01:40] Issue #1: Cancellations – Sometimes a cancellation is unavoidable, however there are still rules that any Certification Body needs to follow – most importantly they should notify the client. Steve shares his experience with an Assessor who was due to show up on the 5th September 2023, and never turned up! it turned out that whilst the date was in the previous report, it had been removed from his diary, but it hadn't then been put into somebody else's diary, and because it hadn't been put into somebody else's diary, there was no flag to anybody to let the client know that the visits should take place. Now that visit had to be pushed back into January next year, which is the only time we can make it. [02:50] Balancing Expectations –  There's an expectation from certification bodies that clients should not cancel a month or less than a month before they visit. Steve recommends that should apply to certification bodies cancelling for clients too. There are many considerations to Certification Body visits, including:- cost, scheduling the right people to be present, setting time aside for the audit ect. [04:30] One-sided penalties – Penalties seem to be very one-sided. For example: if the client cancelled two or three weeks beforehand because they had personal circumstances which meant that they couldn't attend, they would be penalised and would have to pay in full for that visit. Yet the certification body can not show up on a day, and there's no compensation whatsoever. [05:10] This is not the norm for Certification Bodies – A reminder that the issues were raising are not the norm for Certification Bodies – however we are seeing an increase of complaints raised by our clients. This may have been exacerbated due to the recent shortage of Assessors. [05:50] Issue #2: Planning Audits - Another issue that's been cropping up is about planning audits - not just surveillance audits, but also stage 1 and stage 2 Assessments. In regards to ISO 17021, Certification Bodies should be providing an Stage 1 Audit plan to the client to detail what will happen during the visit. That plan is often not happening, or there's a generic plan that gets sent out by the certification body which bears no relevance to what the assessor ends up doing. So that's as useful as a chocolate teapot. It should be sent a month ahead of the visit, not 2 -3 days before the visit takes place. Companies need time to organise the right people and Certification Bodies need to be considerate of that fact. [07:35] Steve’s experience with a poor Audit plan from a Certification Body – Steve had an occasion where he had to write a plan on behalf of the Certification Body Assessor for the client as they’d neglected to even send one! Steve used to be an Assessor, so is familiar with how these plans should be structured. The designated Assessor ended up using his plan – but this should not have been the case. [07:58] Poor planning -  There have been instances where the planning has been so poor that they send the wrong Assessor to a client site. We’ve had experiences where an ISO 27001 Audit was due to take place and the Assessor turned up expecting to Audit against ISO 9001. [08:50] What should Certification Bodies be providing following a Stage 1 Assessment visit? -  After your Stage 1, you should have another plan come out of that stage, after what’s known as the Programme Management Day.  The reason for that is because the assessor sometimes needs to go away, look at what they've written up, and take into account what they've heard from the client, and put a reasonable plan in place. The assessor should then sit down with the client to discuss the plan and what sites are going to be visited during the Stage 2 Assessment. [09:30] Using the right language -  Often we see plans come out with language in the plans that is alright for certification body, but the client has no idea what the assessor is going on about. Steve always used to sit down with his clients and say right, ‘what language do you want me to use?’ And then would use their language and would also put the clause from the related standard next to that and say ‘that's the bit I'm going to audit’. You're writing the plan for the customer, not for yourself. It also acts as assurance for a potential replacement Assessor if the first Assessor is off sick and can’t make the next visit. [11:33] What does ISO 17021 say? -  In clause 9, ISO 17021 states that: the certification should ensure that the audit plan is established prior to each audit identified in the audit programme to provide the basis for agreement regarding the conduct and scheduling of the audit activities. If they fail to put a plan in place, they are not meeting a requirement. ISO 17021 also says that if you've got an organisation that's got different sites, then the plan should take into account the different sites and whether the visit is going to be on site off site – as remote audits have become more common place post-pandemic. [12:35] Steve’s experience with a flimsy plan provided by a Certification Body -  ‘I came across an audit plan which was just a list of all the requirements a standard. It was across 5 days. But there was no indication as to which day those requirements were going to be assessed. There's no indication as to how long each of those requirements are going to be assessed? So what could the client do to prepare for that?’ Steve did say to client send it back and get a proper plan, but they have absolutely no joy with the certification body. [13:50] Issue #3: Unnecessary charges -  Mel recounts a recent incident where a Certification Body cancelled 2 site visits, and due to the long delay between rebooking, the client had moved office. However, they only relocated a few doors down in one instance and across the road in another. The client then received a quote for an extension to scope – amounting to 3 extra days due to the address change! Mel checked ISO 17021 and confirmed that an extension to scope is only applicable if changing what you're doing or you're adding a new location to the scope – however if you’re using the exact same scope and are only moving your business from one location to the next – it is not an extension to scope, it’s just a change of address. Steve recounts a similar instance where a client was charged £160 for the address to be changed on their certificate! Which is a ridiculous and unnecessary admin fee which only serves to upset the client. [17:50] Issue #4: No disclosure of the appeals process -  if client a company isn't happy with their nonconformities, there is an appeals process, which is a requirement of ISO 17021. Steve highlights an incident where an Assessor told a client ‘don't bother with the appeals process because it'll only delay the delivery your certificate’ – Which was highly unprofessional of that particular Assessor to say. The appeals process there is there to help clients if they disagree with their assessor, and allow them to go to a sort of third party that's within the certification body and say, look, I don't agree with this. Can you explain why it's a nonconformity? Top tip: If you do get a non-conformity that you’re confused about – Ask the Assessor to show you where in the standard it requires you to do that. If an assessor cannot show you that, then it is not a nonconformity. [20:30] The complaints process -  The complaints process really is not about appealing against a nonconformity, but complaining against perhaps not getting your plans in your reports and all that sort of thing. [21:20] These issues are not the norm – don’t be put off ISO certification! -  While we have noticed an increase in complaints in the last year, we also want to highlight that these have mostly been for 1 or 2 select Certification Bodies. On the whole, Certification Bodies provide a wonderful service to their clients. We just wanted to bring their code of practice to your attention, that you can check ISO 17021 to verify that the Certification Body is being fair to you and fulfilling their own requirements in relation to customer service. [23:35] Receiving reports -  Lastly a reminder that reports to clients following visits should not take months to get to them. Clients should expect reports from Assessors in 2 – 3 days – not months! We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how: ●      Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●      Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. 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If you are going for certification, or currently manage a certified ISO Management System, then you should also be aware of ISO 17021 ahead of any Assessments or Surveillance audits conducted by an accredited Certification Body. ISO 17021 sets out requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems. It ensures that Certification Bodies provide a reliable assessment of compliance with the applicable requirements, carried out by a competent impartial audit team, to achieve a consistent result for all clients. So, why should you be aware of this Standard in particular? ISO 17021 also establishes what you as a client should expect from your Certification Body. Steve Mason, Managing Consultant at Blackmores, joins Mel to discuss what ISO 17021 is, why you should be aware of it and the requirements related to expected service delivery from Certification Bodies. You’ll learn ●      What is ISO 17021 ●      The difference between accredited and non-accredited certification bodies ●      A brief overview of the Standard and client related requirements   Resources ●      isologyhub ●      International Accreditation Forum ●      ISO 17021   In this episode, we talk about: [01:40] Why are we talking about ISO 17021 now? In our internal Team Meetings, Certification Bodies are an established talking point. Highlighting the good and the bad, but in recent months it’s been more on the negative side. Steve had highlighted ISO 17021 as the Standard to look at in regard to expected service delivery requirements from Certification Bodies – so here we are! [03:00] What is ISO 17021? The reason for the standard is that it ensures that all certification bodies are delivering the same level of service to all customers. Certification Bodies don’t need to be certified to other standards such as ISO 9001, as ISO 17021 was specifically designed for the purpose of delivering certifications. It’s also the standard where you can find out what’s expected of Certification Bodies – like a Terms and Conditions or service level agreement. [05:00] The difference between accredited and non-accredited Certification Bodies - Go back and watch episode 19 to learn more. [06:10] Why is it important that the Certification Body is accredited? –  Accreditation proves that the Certification Body is being checked by another body. Accreditation is also recognised worldwide – it’s trusted as a gold standard of performance. There are many different accreditation bodies around the world, here in the UK it’s UKAS, but there are others such as ANAB in the US. Check out the International Accreditation Forum website to confirm the accreditation body for your country. [08:10] Ultimately, a Certification Body can’t offer accredited certification services unless they've actually been assessed by the applicable accreditation body to ISO 17021, and they need to do that on an ongoing basis like any other certification. They also may not be accredited to deliver every standard they offer – so make sure you verify with the certification body that they are in fact accredited to ISO 9001, ISO 27001 ect. [09:15] A brief overview of what’s included in ISO 17021 – A lot of the clauses before this are really about the management of certification body, but when it comes to clause 9, this is where the customer becomes a lot more involved in the requirements. It covers topics such as planning audits, conducting audits, certification decision making, maintaining certification, the appeals process, the complaints process and then keeping client records. Clause 9 in particular is where you, as a client, should focus. [11:00] What core principles are described in ISO 17021? - Impartiality, competence, responsibility, openness, confidentiality, responsiveness to complaints, risk based approach and legal responsibilities. [12:20] What personal behaviors should you expect from your assessor? – In Steve’s experience, he’s seen more and more assessors not living up to the requirements of ISO 17021. This could be for a number of reasons, i.e. they could have an uncooperative client, they may not have had adequate training, perhaps there’s a break down between clients and client managers. Either way, these are a few of the qualities that Assessors should embody: ethical, fair, truthful, sincere, honest, discrete and open-minded. [14:00] A lack of open mindedness -  Steve had encountered an Assessor that stated ‘This must be wrong because I've never seen it done that way’ – which is not open minded in the least. This resulted in a non-conformity which should have never been raised. ISO 17021, clause 9.4.5 states that any non-conformity raised shall be recorded against a specific requirement in the Standard being audited. Assessors need to take heed not to assess to their preference. [15:15] Top Tip -  If you get asked a question, then give an answer and they raise that as a non-conformity that you’re unsure as to why it’s being raised - it's always worth asking the Assessor to show you where in the standard they're raising the non-conformity against. It's a case of clarifying the question and verifying what they’re raising a non-conformity against, and if there’s a justification for it. If there is, then great, they’re doing a great job! If not, it may be the Assessor’s personal bias, and there’s a chance you can get that non-conformity down to an opportunity for improvement. [17:05] Other expected traits for Assessors to be aware of -  Collaborative: It should be a partnership between the client and Assessor – they want what’s best for you. Tenacious: This can sometimes be taken too far. For example, if your Assessor it still assessing past 5pm, tell them to go home. If they need more time, then it's up to the certification body to work that one out. Other basic traits include: Observational, being perceptive and versatile. We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how: ●      Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●      Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

Discover how ISO standards are key to winning contracts and securing client trust. Learn why eight out of ten businesses seek certification to enhance their competitiveness. Delve into the importance of environmental certifications and risk management procedures. Understand the distinction between accredited and non-accredited certification bodies. Explore the critical role of skilled personnel and accountability in upholding ISO standards for operational excellence. Tune in for ten compelling reasons to align your business with ISO policies!

Quality and environmental management are top priorities for many organisations, backed up by the increasing number of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certificates being issued every year. Aside from being a popular requirement on tenders, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 provide a robust framework for businesses to ensure they follow Best Practice, enhance their businesses performance and put measures in place to reduce their environmental impact. We often see these two Standards being implemented in tandem, as is the case with todays’ guest, Asynt. Asynt is a global provider of world leading technologies and services for scientific research, developed by chemists for chemists, their laboratory equipment responds to the real demands of industry and academia across the globe. Today we welcome Siobhan Ellwood, Sales Support at Asynt, as she explains their journey towards ISO 9001 Implementation, and how they embedded ISO 14001 along the way using our online learning platform – the isologyhub. You’ll learn ●      Who are Asynt? ●      How did Siobhan get involved with ISO Standards? ●      What was Asynt’s main driver for obtaining ISO 9001 and ISO 14001? ●      What did Asynt learn while implementing ISO 9001 and ISO 14001? ●      Siobhan’s experience using the isologyhub to implement ISO 14001   Resources ●      Asynt ●      ISO 9001 ●      ISO 14001 ●      isologyhub   In this episode, we talk about: [00:55] An Introduction to Asynt - A global provider of world leading technologies and services for scientific research. Based just outside of Ely in Cambridgeshire, they just celebrated 20 years in business! [02:10] Siobhan’s role and how she got involved with ISO Standards: Siobhan is the Sales Support Manager for Asynt, she assist with raising quotations, managing sales orders and providing support for the warehouse. In January 2023, 3 members of the Asynt Team were tasked with researching and obtaining ISO 9001, with a view to adopt ISO 14001 later on. Siobhan had experience working with Quality Standards thanks to her previous work in aviation and automotive companies, and had even previously implemented the Standard. Naturally, she was a perfect fit to head the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 project at Asynt. [05:40] What did Siobhan enjoy most about Implementing ISO Standards? Initially, realising that she had a lot more knowledge about ISO than she gave herself credit for. Also, making use of the 5 Why’s to identify where something has gone wrong, implement a solution and preventing it from recurring. [06:40] What were the main drivers behind Implementing ISO 9001 and ISO 14001?: For ISO 9001 – Top Management saw the need to have proper procedures in place, to ensure that everything was written down and could be communicated and conducted by other staff if needed. Ultimately, they wanted a cohesive system where everything, included roles and responsibilities, were documented and managed. For ISO 14001 – Customers often ask for ISO 9001, but ISO 14001 was also starting to pop up in conversation more. Top Management at Asynt wanted to get ahead of the curve and make the move towards becoming more environmentally friendly. It was also seen as a stepping stone towards being in a position to calculate their Carbon Footprint and make further improvements. [09:50] The ISO 14001 Coaching Programme – Asynt were one of the first companies to go through our ISO Coaching Programme, hosted via the isologyhub. This programme combined the DIY digital platform with group coaching sessions, allowing all participants to work collaboratively towards creating their own Environmental Management System.   [10:20] Siobhan’s experience with the ISO 14001 Coaching Programme:  Overall Siobhan had a very positive experience in the coaching programme, a few highlights include: Sharing ideas: Other participants come from a wide range of industries, and each brought their own unique ideas to the table, encouraging others to look at things from many different points of view. Support: If another participant is struggling with something, there is a group of people to support and provide possible solutions. Siobhan gave an example of where she provided an Excel guide to another member who was looking for a solution. Resources: Siobhan had previous experience with implementing ISO Standards, so she was aware of what type of documentation was required. She found the resources on the hub useful to refer to outside of coaching sessions, to enhance Asynt’s own ISO Standard Implementation.   [12:20] What was the biggest Gap identified during Asynt’s Gap Analysis? Mostly it was the lack of documentation, which required a lot of work to get everything written down in cohesive processes and procedures. For ISO 14001, Asynt are fortunate enough to own the buildings that they operate in. So, gathering the initial information required where potential energy and environmental improvements could be made was fairly easy. [15:00] What differences did Asynt see after addressing the identified gaps? For ISO 14001 – Some elements were already in place (recycling waste ect), but weren’t being monitored in any meaningful way. Now Siobhan has got processes in place to ensure the recycling is being separated correctly and weighed so they can properly gauge their impact. For ISO 9001 – It was the introduction of the 5 Why’s, which Asynt have used to great effect to identify problems and implement solutions. An example of this can be found in their warehouse, lanes and shelves weren’t labelled, causing confusion. It was a quick fix that could have been implemented years ago, but the 5 Why’s forced a much needed change. [18:00] What did Siobhan learn from the experience of Implementing ISO 9001 and ISO 14001?  Integrating a Management System can save on a lot of paperwork! Initially the plan was to have just an ISO 9001 System, with ISO 14001 implemented at a later date. Going through the process of Implementing them as the same time highlighted how much easier it would be to combine them, thanks in part to how many elements overlap between the two. It also makes the system a lot easier to interact with, having everything in one place rather than spread between two separate systems means staff don’t have to waste time digging for policies and Procedures. [20:00] Certification plans: Asynt are well on their way towards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification with their Stage 1 in October and Stage 2 in November 2023. With just under 2 months before the Stage 1, Siobhan plans to continue working through some opportunities for Improvement, raised by Blackmores in some recent Internal Audits. [21:41] Siobhan’s top tip: Trust in the process and make sure that you have the right person in your business to lead the ISO project. Also being open to change, being honest with yourself about where the gaps are and trying to get those closed but also manage expectations within the business. [23:50] Siobhan’s book recommendation:  Salt path by Raynor Winn. [26:05] Siobhan’s favorite quote: “Personal growth is not a matter of learning new information, but unlearning old limits” – Alan Cohen If you’d like to learn more about Asynt check out their website! We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how: ●      Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●      Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

The UK events industry accounts for 35% of the UK visitor economy and is estimated to be worth £42 billion, yet it is still incredibly wasteful, with 68% of waste going directly to landfill. Haymarket Media Group is a global media data and information company, who offer a wide range of digital print, tech and live event services. Haymarket UK had been certified to ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) and ISO 50001 (Energy Management) for a few years prior to 2019, covering most aspects of their business from a sustainability point of view. However, their live events still had many sustainability opportunities that were not being taken into consideration by their existing certifications. So, in early 2022 they embarked on their journey to gain ISO 20121 (Sustainable Event Management) certification.  Today, Gary Charlton and Natalie Harris from Haymarket join Mel to discuss exactly why they added ISO 20121 to their portfolio, the challenges faced with Implementing the Standard, and the benefits gained from certification. You’ll learn ●      Who are Haymarket? ●      What is ISO 20121 Sustainable Event Management? ●      Why did Haymarket choose to Implement ISO 20121? ●      What challenges did they face? ●      What are the benefits of ISO 20121?   Resources ●      Haymarket Media ●      ISO 20121 ●      isologyhub   In this episode, we talk about: [00:50] An Introduction to Haymarket Media Group - A global media data and information company, with offices in the UK, US, Germany, India and Asia. They produce live events (including award ceremonies, conferences and exhibitions), digital print, education data and tech services. [02:25] Gary Charlton is the Head of Procurement for the UK -  Part of his role includes supporting the Haymarket approach towards sustainability, to ensure their products and services are as environmentally and socially sustainable as possible. [02:45] Natalie Harris is the Procurement Executive at Haymarket – A lot of her role revolves around live events in addition to purchasing our products and services. Additionally, she advises the wider team on buying legally, sustainably and ethically. Both Natalie and Gary form a team, and were the main driving force behind the creation of their Sustainable Event Management System. [03:40] What is ISO 20121?: ISO 20121 was launched for, and named after, the 2012 Olympics, making it the worlds first sustainable Olympics!  The Standard provides a framework for managing events sustainably, that includes having the policies, procedures, registers and records to demonstrate that the events are being run in a sustainable manner. Being certified indicates that a company is not just paying lip service to sustainability, it's actually practicing what they preach. If you’d like to learn more about ISO 20121, go back and listen to episode 38. [05:30] What was the main driver behind Haymarket achieving ISO 20121?: Haymarket first contacted Blackmores about assisting with ISO 20121 Implementation in 2019. At the time, they were already certified to ISO 14001 and ISO 50001, so they understood the benefits that came with ISO certifications - including the framework to start making better decisions and accurately measure what you're doing. Their head of facilities had started the process of evaluating other areas they could improve with ISO Standards, particularly around sustainability. Live events are a large service offering for Haymarket, which has a significant environmental footprint, so a case was put forward for the benefits if reducing that impact with the help of ISO 20121. The team running their live events were very positive about the potential benefits presented, and the go ahead was given. [07:20] Sustainability is central to how Haymarket wants to operate – Implementing ISO 20121 would ensure that there was more standardisation across their processes. This would introduce some uniformity that could apply to all types of events, which was very important to the Live event lead - Donna Murphy. Natalie was in the right place at the right time, already in the position of working in collaboration with Haymarket’s Live events team on sustainable procurement, ensuring that due diligence was followed with suppliers and their accreditations. So, it was a no-brainer getting her on board with the ISO 20121 project! [09:30] How long did it take to implement ISO 20121?:  Haymarket engaged in Blackmores services in February 2022 and were accredited by July 2023. In total, it took 18 months for the planning, creation and development ahead of the assessment. They ensured the system was refined to ensure it worked efficiently, encouraging continual improvement and a harmonious approach for the whole business. [11:15] Above and beyond: Haymarket received a lot of praise from their Assessor – highlighting their thoroughness, including the involvement of top management and many others within the organisation in the creation of the Management System. Also for ensuring that the system would be applicable for the 4 main types of events that Haymarket runs. [12:00] ISO 20121 requires an audit to be conducted during a live event – So Haymarket had a lot to consider when selecting the event to be audited.   [13:30] Haymarket’s key insights on Implementing ISO 20121: #1: The Gap Analysis was an integral part of the process – by highlighting the gaps you can clearly see where improvements can be made. While they may have been a bit crestfallen and daunted by the gaps presented, they came out if knowing they already had around 27% of a Sustainable Event Management system already in place – partly due to their existing certifications.  This soon bumped up to 59% at the half-way checkpoint! This assured them that ISO 20121 was within reach, and simply required at bit of time and effort to achieve. #2 Having leadership involvement and backing – They were quick to involve their live event lead, Donna Murphy, in key decision making and with the roll-out of the Management System. She was instrumental in ensuring the Standard was in place and being followed. [18:45] What were some of the gap identified and how did Haymarket bridge them?  Required documentation – Many ISO standards have required documentation. A lot of times companies do have a lot of it place, but it’s simply just not formalised. Natalie highlights that this was the case with a Risk Register. It’s not a universal company need to have, but as part of the Procurement Team it’s simply a part of who they are and what they do. For live events, they need to do the appropriate health and safety checks, but it wasn’t formalised in any way. Thankfully their facilities and environment specialist, who assisted with the existing ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 certifications, was on hand to help with the creation of risk procedures based on procedures from the existing Management System. With this collaborative approach, using elements from the exiting Management System, they created 31 brand new documents consisting of Procedures, Registers, Log and Records that are continuously used, monitored and updated. This new documentation, while a lot of work to create, ultimately helps Haymarket track, measure and set parameter’s for continuous Improvement. It ensured they have a really visual system, with a clear view of what needs to be done to run sustainable events.  [23:00] What difference has Implementing ISO 20121 made?: There was a big amount of short-time work for a long term gain. It’s not simply a stack of useless documents sitting in a corner, it’s a living, breathing system that is injected into the business. The Management system is of benefit to everyone, including those new to Haymarket’s team as it provides a structured and standardised approach to sustainable event delivery. It’s provided knowledge and helped to develop new skills that will stick with all those that interact with the Management system, whether they stay with Haymarket or move elsewhere. Ultimately, it’s all about ensuring they are doing the right thing for the planet. By creating more sustainable events, they are reducing their impact as a whole. [26:00] What is the main achievement from being certified to ISO 20121?: Morale and confidence that they can say they really do practice what they preach. They could hold a mirror up and say, right, we've created this system and we're confident in it – with internal audits conducted by third-parities to confirm they’re on the right track with their intended goals. Certification is not the end goal. You have annual Surveillance Audits to check-in, so the system must be a long-term feature in your business, and it must drive continual improvement. [27:50] What top tip would Gary and Natalie give for ISO 20121 Implementation? Gary: Make sure you’re resolute in your reasoning for Implementing the standard and the implications of doing so. Also, enlist the help of someone with Implementation experience! Natalie: Don’t underestimate the amount of work required. Select someone in-house to manage the project and when / if you can, use external resources such as a consultant to assist. They can also provide unbias, reflective feedback to ensure you’re on the right track. [30:10] What’s a favorite quote? “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it” – Robert Swan If you’d like to learn more about Haymarket check out their website! We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how: ●      Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●      Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List