#148 How Asynt are embedding Quality and Environmental management with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
Release Date: 09/13/2023
#176 Top ISO Standard Trends in Data Centres
The ISO Show
Data Centres could be considered the powerhouse of thousands of businesses globally. Long gone are the days of small physical servers being housed on-site, instead we rely on data centres to keep all our critical data safe and secure. But how do we know they are doing just that? Many hold certifications to security-based Standards such as SOC 2 or NIST to display their commitment to data security. However, many also hold various ISO certifications that cover other aspects of the business outside of information security. Today Steph Churchman, Communications Manager at Blackmores,...
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#175 How Daisy embedded effective energy management with ISO 50001
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Working towards a sustainable future is going to require a joint effort from everyone if we’re to reach our 2030 and 2050 targets. Several initiatives have come out in recent years to try and address one of our biggest challenges, energy consumption. Many of us in the UK will be familiar with ESOS (The Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme), which involves regular reporting from those that fit its criteria. It’s also recently updated to include a stipulation to include an ESOS Energy Plan, which requires you to detail a route to reduce your energy consumption. However, many...
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#174 What is the new ISO Climate Change Amendment?
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In February 2024, the ISO and IAF issued an unprecedented change to 31 commonly adopted ISO Standards, such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001. This change saw the addition of a new ‘Climate Change Amendment’, which was applied in part due to the ISO’s resolution in support of the ISO London Declaration on Climate Change. So what does this mean for ISO certified businesses? Join Mel as she discusses what this new ISO Climate Change Amendment is, why it was introduced, what are the consequences if you don’t address it and the benefits of its introduction. You’ll...
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#173 Top 10 Reasons to Use ISO 42001 AI Management
The ISO Show
ISO 42001 was published in December of 2023, and is the first International Standard for Artificial Intelligence Management Systems. It was introduced following growing calls for a common framework for organisations who develop or use AI, to help implement, maintain and improve AI management practices. However, its benefits extends past simply establishing an effective AI Management System. Join Steph Churchman, Communications Manager at Blackmores, on this episode as she discusses the top 10 reasons to adopt ISO 42001. You’ll learn · What is ISO 42001? ...
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#172 Effectively Responding to a Cyber Incident with Epiq
The ISO Show
Nearly 60% of businesses that are impacted by a cyber incident go out of business within the 6 months following. With our heavy reliance on technology to keep both businesses and services running, it’s imperative that everyone take cyber risk seriously. However, incidents will inevitably happen and it’s up to you to ensure that your business is prepared to ride out the wave, and hopefully make a full recovery! We invited Jack Morris, Account Director at Epiq, back onto the show to discuss the consequences of not being prepared for a cyber incident and the key steps businesses should...
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#171 Proactive Steps to Mitigate Cyber Incident Risk with Epiq
The ISO Show
Cyber incidents are on the rise as data shows there was a 20% increase in data breaches from 2022 to 2023. Technology has become an integral part of most businesses, especially post pandemic where many who may have avoided this reliance on tech had no choice but to adapt to survive. As a result, the question of businesses being affected by a cyber incident has become ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. However, there are a number of steps you can take to mitigate risks ahead of any potential incidents. We invited Jack Morris, Account Director at Epiq, to discuss cyber...
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#170 Trends in the Carbon Market with Nature Broking
The ISO Show
Businesses looking to tackle their environmental impact will need to look at how they can reduce their carbon emissions and offset any remaining emissions to ensure that they reach Net Zero. One of the most common ways businesses offset their emissions is through the purchasing of carbon credits that typically go towards planting trees or re-wilding. However, there are a number of new emerging trends following on from the current commodification of nature, resulting in an attitude shift from businesses who are looking to get a lot more involved in the offsetting process. We invited Luke...
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#169 Credible Carbon offsetting with Nature Broking
The ISO Show
The UK is the first major economy to achieve it’s 50% reduction target for Greenhouse Gas Emissions (between 1990 and 2022). However, we’ve still got a lot of work to do to reach our 2023 target of a 68% reduction. Many businesses are already making great strides to reduce their Impact, and while you can reduce, achieving true carbon neutrality will involve offsetting a certain amount of emissions. One of the biggest challenges for businesses in terms of completing their offsetting is finding a credible carbon offsetting scheme. Mel is joined by Luke Baldwin, Co-founder and CEO of...
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#168 Changes to ESOS – What you need to be aware of
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The UK recently hit a huge milestone, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the UK have reduced their Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 50% between 1990 and 2022. The UK are the first major economy to achieve this, however we’ve still got a lot of work to do to meet our 2030 target of a 68% reduction. Over the past few years there have been a number of schemes aimed at businesses to help tackle their impact, specifically their energy consumption. Here in the UK, ESOS (The Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme) was introduced as an implementation of the EU...
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#167 How Lifelong Learner embedded ISO 22301 in just 4 months
The ISO Show
According to the there’s been a 82.9% increase in worldwide ISO 22301 certificates issued following 2020. Business Continuity is a must have for businesses who want to ensure long-term survivability following a disruptive event. Many turn to ISO 22301 to help put a framework in place, including today’s guest – Lifelong Learner. However, what usually takes businesses a minimum of 6 months, Lifelong Learner managed to accomplish in just 4 months across an international organisation! That is no small part due to the tremendous effort of Lifelong Learner’s Manager of Information...
info_outlineQuality 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
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!
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