The ISO Show: Episode 33 – Which ISO Standards are the most popular?

We often get asked which is the best ISO Standard to go for and what are the benefits.

In this week’s ISO Show we highlight the top 5 from the Annual ISO survey published by the International Standards Organisation.  Here’s a summary of the countdown, but worth noting are two runners up!

• Medical devices standard ISO 13485, which is most popular in the USA, followed by Germany.  Interestingly, this is the only standard where the USA is top of the charts.
• ISO 45001 the Health and Safety Standard.  For years, the predecessor the Occupational Health and Safety Standard 18001 was popular in manufacturing and construction, however since this standard became an ISO Standard a year ago it has seen a significant increase in demand, not only with OHSAS 18001 companies migrating to the new ISO standard, but new companies keen to commit to higher standards of Health and Safety.

So which ISO standard is the 5^th most popular in the world?:

Starting in reverse order, I’m going to give an overview of the top 5 standards.

#5  ISO 50001 the energy standard – When ISO 50001 was launched a few years ago, there was some debate about whether it was even worth having a standard for energy management – well clearly there is because thousands of organisations are treating their energy management very seriously by implementing an energy management system and getting certified.

#4  ISO 22000:2018 the food safety standard -countries that are taking the lead with this one – namely, China, Greece, India and Japan leading the way in food safety.

#3 ISO 27001 the Information Security Standard – Why has ISO 27001 become so popular?  Apart from governments putting pressure on businesses to secure personal data, businesses are demanding higher standards of protection for commercial data.  Now, there is a common misconception that ISO 27001 is just about data – well it’s not, it also covers Personnel and Physical security along with Business Continuity.

#2 ISO 14001 the Environmental Standard – All businesses should be accountable for their environmental footprint.  If we are to be carbon-neutral by 2050 we need a real mechanism for change, not just having a piece of paper labelled an ‘Environmental Policy’.  This is something, that I am personally extremely passionate about, and at Blackmores we will be focusing on how businesses can help to reverse the damage they are doing to the environment over the next decade.  It will not be easy, but it does have to be done, as we are putting our children, grand-children and future generations at significant risk by NOT doing anything.

So whether your organisation has a desire for ISO 14001 certification or not, I implore you to start today by considering how your company can be more efficient with your resources

If you’d like to find out more about this check out the ISO 14001 Steps to Success series, ISO Show # for the low-down.

#1 ISO 9001 the Quality Management Standard – Consumers will always expect high quality services and products, one may argue consumer demands are getting higher.  With over 1 million organisations certified globally, the economic benefits are clear, businesses need systems to operate efficiently to be profitable and demonstrate a commitment to quality to clients to retain their business, and win new business. 

Other resources: Annual ISO Survey

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