The creators of isology®

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] So 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 15^th December 2023. The Standard price will be £14.99. If you’re at EMEX on the 22^nd or 23^rd 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
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One of the most common reasons why businesses look to achieve certification is because a client or prospective client is demanding it.  Questions are often asked in tenders such as do you have an Environmental policy? A complaints procedure? Data privacy controls? And of course do you have ISO 9001 (the quality standard)? Or ISO 14001 (the Environmental Management Standard)?

These answers accrue points and when bidding for a contract, the more points you can get the better chance you have of winning that lucrative contract, which could bring your company 1 – 3 years of high value revenue and profit.

So why are ISO Standards, Policies and Procedures mentioned in tenders?

And why should you look to align your business with quality, environmental and risk standards?    

Join Mel on today’s episode as she shares 10 reasons why ISO Standards can help businesses win tenders.

You’ll learn

• Why are ISO Standards mentioned in Tenders?
• The difference between accredited and non-accredited certification bodies
• 10 Reasons why ISO Standards can help to win Tenders

Resources

• isologyhub

In this episode, we talk about:

[00:55] Based on 17 years of running four businesses relating to ISO standards, Mel estimates that 8 out of 10 businesses that look to achieve certification is because they want to win or retain a client contract.

[01:35] If you’ve got your Policies, Procedures, Standards and systems in place, it does make the whole process of bidding for tenders a lot easier, in addition to giving you a greater chance of winning those tenders.

[02:30] Reason #1: Proof that you have achieved the highest standards – Put yourself in your clients’ shoes – would you rather work with a company that pays lip service to protecting your valuable data? Or that they have over 100 controls to manage your data in the security? (Such as in the Standard for Information Security – ISO 27001)  

One of the main reasons your clients will be looking for your company to be certified to an  ISO as because it demonstrates that you operate your business to the highest global standards.

[04:00] Reason #2: Demonstrates independent 3rd party certification –  This means that its not just you that claims that your business has good health and safety controls in place – an ISO certified business has to prove that its compliant year after year.  Being certified is proof that you practice what you preach and that there is evidence to back this up.

[04:50] Be careful – know the difference between accredited and non-accredited certification – Go back and watch episode 19 to learn more.

[05:45] Reason #3: Recognised across the globe – Passport to trade – When organisations are looking to expand internationally, ISO certification is often a requirement to deliver services or provide products overseas.  This is because ISO Standards are recognised globally as they way businesses should be run.

ISO’s aren’t just passports to trade internationally – they are also passports to trade in certain sectors.  For example in Construction – you aren’t going to get very far in tenders if you don’t have ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environment) and ISO 45001 (Health and Safety).

[08:40] Reason #4 – USP – Many organisations adopt ISO Standards to give them a competitive edge and score more points in a tender.  For example, let’s say you’re bidding for a public sector contract worth £2 million, and they are very keen on their suppliers verifying their carbon footprint and being carbon neutral. It would give you a massive competitive edge if you could prove this and demonstrate evidence, once such way would be to get certified to ISO 14064 (Carbon Verification) and PAS 2060 (Carbon Neutrality). If you’d like to learn more about those Standards, go back and listen to episodes 72 and 73.

Note: PAS 2060 is set to become an ISO in the near future! Keep an eye out for news concerning ISO 14068…

[11:55] Reason #5: Risk Management – ISO Standards help to significantly reduce risk.  This is why certified business have lower insurance costs and win more business.  All businesses need effective risk management – even Law Firms.  Over the last few years, we’ve seen more and more law firms achieve certification to ISO 27001 (Info Sec), ISO 27701 (GDPR) and business continuity (ISO 22301).

[13:20] Reason #6: Meeting customer requirements –  The one thing that a client outsourcing services expects as a minimum is that you actually meet their needs. It’s not much to ask is it? Though, you would be surprised how many businesses operate without processes!

ISO Standards help to define what your processes, and provide a blueprint for how you run your business – therefore providing clients with a standardised approach that is repeatable and guarantees high standards of quality products and services time and time again.

[14:30] Reason #7: Reduce ambiguity –  ISO Standards set out very clear specification – Many of them require certain documents that non-certified businesses often don’t have.

One such example is a process for dealing with problems, otherwise known as ‘Non-conformities’ in the ISO world. Businesses shouldn’t just bury their heads in the sand, they should have a system in place to log issues / customer complaints, rectify the issue and put preventative measures in place to prevent a recurrence.

[16:05] Reason #8: Industry specific standards –  Certain ISO Standards prove that you meet the highest quality best practice standards for your industry.

Not every industry has specific ISO Standards – but an example of this may be an events company that wants to stand out by being sustainable. ISO 20121 (Sustainable Event Management) would give them a huge advantage over competitors.

[17:10] Reason #9: Competent personnel with clear accountability and responsibility –  ISO Standards do stipulate that you have people that actually know what they’re talking about, in some cases, for businesses that don’t have ISO’s, this can be a bit of a steep learning curve.

If you’re looking to gain some basic competency in ISO Standards – check out our online learning platform, the isologyhub.

[18:10] Reason #10: Gives assurance to clients for a period of 3 years – ISO Standards are continuously maintained over a 3-year cycle.  It’s not a case of passing an assessment then waving goodbye to the systems you’ve got in place to run the business. 

You have to prove continued compliance through annual surveillance audits, and recertify after 3 years.

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 episode’s:

Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube | iTunes | Soundcloud |