Standards

Last updated: 17 January 2024 at 20:48

Standards set by bodies such as the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) play a crucial role in the business world. These standards establish guidelines and best practices for a wide range of areas, including quality management, environmental management, information security, and more.

For smaller companies, these standards offer several key benefits:

Quality Assurance: ISO and BSI standards help businesses ensure their products or services meet a certain level of quality. This can be particularly beneficial for smaller businesses trying to establish their reputation in the market.
Operational Efficiency: Standards provide a systematic approach to managing business processes. This can lead to improved efficiency, consistency, and productivity, helping small businesses to minimise waste and maximise resources.
Competitive Advantage: Compliance with recognised standards can differentiate a small business from its competitors. It can enhance the business's credibility and attractiveness to potential clients or customers, especially when dealing with larger corporations or public sector contracts that may require certain standards.
Risk Management: Standards like ISO 27001 (Information Security Management) can help small businesses identify, manage, and reduce risks to their information security.
Access to New Markets: Compliance with international standards can make it easier for small businesses to export their products or services, as these standards are recognised and trusted worldwide.
Environmental Responsibility: Standards such as ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) provide guidelines for reducing waste and minimising a business's environmental impact, which is increasingly important to consumers and stakeholders.

While achieving and maintaining compliance with these standards can involve some investment of time and resources, many small businesses find that the benefits in terms of improved quality, efficiency, and market access make it a worthwhile investment. Achieving compliance with the requirements certain standards is called certification (the certification process is performed by accredited third-party e.g., NQA). In some cases, certification may be a condition of working for certain customers, or it may simply signal commitment to stakeholders.

There are five standards that all Createchs should be aware of and, ideally, look to for guidance as they provide useful and relevant information for companies of any size. The four standards are:

ISO 14001. This is the international standard for environmental management systems (EMS). It was developed to provide a framework that organisations can use to design an effective EMS. ISO 14001 doesn't set out specific environmental performance criteria, but it does help organisations to enhance their environmental performance, fulfil compliance obligations, and achieve environmental objectives. The standard is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle which emphasises continual improvement. ISO 140001 provides a set of requirements against which an organisation can be certified by an accredited third-party (e.g., by bodies such as NQA).
ISO 26000. This is an international standard providing guidance on corporate social responsibility (CSR). It assists organisations in contributing to sustainable development beyond legal compliance through a common understanding of CSR and promoting best practices in CSR. It is designed to be applicable for all types of organisations, regardless of their activity or sector. ISO 26000 provides guidance rather than requirements, so it cannot be certified to unlike some other ISO standards. It includes seven core subjects: organisational governance, human rights, labour practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, and community involvement and development. ISO 26000 provide guidance to those who recognise that respect for society and environment is a critical success factor. However, an organisation cannot be certified as compliant to ISO 26000.
ISO/IEC 27001. This is an internationally recognised standard for the management of information security. It provides a framework for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an information security management system (ISMS). The standard outlines a risk management process involving the identification and assessment of information security risks the organisation faces, and the implementation of appropriate security controls to mitigate them. ISO/IEC 27001 requires continual improvement of the ISMS, ensuring that it adapts to changes in the threat landscape, the organisation's structure, and business environment. The ultimate goal of ISO/IEC 27001 is to help organisations secure their information assets. Like other ISO standards, ISO/IEC 27001 can be audited and organisations can be formally certified compliant with the standard.
ISO/IEC 42001. This is a recent (December 2023) international standard for "establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Artificial Intelligence Management System (AIMS)" in organisations of any size. This is the first standard of its kind, and it provides a so-called impact framework for managing some of the unique risks associated with artificial intelligence (e.g. ethical issues, transparency), as well a how to capitalise on the opportunities and benefits. Implementing this management system standard means putting in place policies, procedures, assessments and controls for sound governance in relation to Artificial Intelligence.
ISO 50001. This is the international standard for energy management systems. The objective of this standard is to enable organisations to establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy performance, including energy efficiency, use, and consumption. The implementation of this standard should lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts and energy costs, through systematic management of energy. It is based on the management system model of continual improvement also used for other standards such as ISO 14001, making it easier for organisations to integrate energy management into their overall efforts to improve. Like other ISO standards, ISO 50001 can be audited and organisations can be formally certified compliant with the standard.

At the moment, certification is not common in Createch, but some larger companies are doing this. For example, Hobs 3D (specialists use the latest technologies in 3D printing, modelmaking and 3D visualisations) have certification to ISO 14001 and ISO 27001.

Here is a more complete list of key national and international standards relevant to Createchs and sustainability, circularity, energy consumption, waste reduction, environmental management:

ISO 14001: International standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
ISO 14040: International standard for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
ISO 14044: International standard for LCA requirements and guidelines
ISO 14067: International standard for Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals
ISO 26000: International standard for Social Responsibility
ISO/IEC 27001: International standard for information security management systems (ISMS)
ISO 20121: International standard for Sustainable Event Management
ISO 20400: International standard for Sustainable Procurement
ISO 37101: International standard for Sustainable Development in Communities
ISO 50001: International standard for Energy Management Systems
BS 8900: British standard for Sustainable Development
BS 8001: British standard for Circular Economy
EN 15804: European standard for Environmental Product Declarations
EN 15978: European standard for Sustainability Assessment of Buildings
PAS2400: British standard for Social Management System Specification.
Cradle to Cradle Certified: A globally recognised measure of safer, more sustainable products made for the circular economy.
Energy Star: A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect the climate through superior energy efficiency.

When it comes to choosing office space it is worth noting that there are also standards for assessing and certifying the sustainability of buildings:

LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a green building certification programme.
BREEAM: Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, a sustainability assessment method for buildings.
WELL Building Standard: A performance-based certification system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and well-being.

These standards provide guidelines and frameworks to help businesses manage their environmental and social impacts, reduce energy consumption and waste, and promote sustainable development.

This information is brought to you by the Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD) at the University for the Creative Arts in the UK. CfSD was established in 1995 in Farnham, Surrey, UK and is based within the Business School for the Creative Industries (BSCI). The Centre has led and participated in a range of high-quality research projects and has organised hundreds of conferences, workshops and training courses in Europe. CfSD works with partners in Europe, Asia, and North America to deliver high quality results.

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