Internal and External Issues: Understanding ISO

Internal and external issues are part of understanding the organisation and its context, a common clause across all standards aligned with the Annex SL framework, which includes ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015. As such, Both of these standards have a clause which reads something similar to: “The organization shall determine external and internal issues that Read more about Internal and External Issues: Understanding ISO[…]

Understanding ISO: Benefits of ISO 9001 Quality Management

Ever been asked if you have a quality management system or ISO 9001? Many clients now require this certification as a minimum for their supply chain. Other than meeting these requirements, what else can ISO 9001 do for your organisation? Efficiency and Improvement Most organisations who pursue ISO 9001 are private, commercial organisations, so let’s Read more about Understanding ISO: Benefits of ISO 9001 Quality Management[…]

Understanding ISO: Getting Certified

So you’ve implemented your system and now you want to let everybody know how great your organisation is! What next? How can you tell people you are operating in compliance with ISO standard? What do you need to do if you want to get UKAS certified? Read on to find out more… Under ISO there Read more about Understanding ISO: Getting Certified[…]

Understanding ISO: What does it mean?

You’ve probably seen stickers or logos on vans, websites and brochures with the acronym “ISO”. If you’ve ever wondered what it means, here’s some more information about these standards, what they mean and why your organisation might want to get certified. ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develop, maintain, review and update all ISO Read more about Understanding ISO: What does it mean?[…]

Ian Dodd talking to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at Stevenage BTC

Labour at the BTC: Energy and Net Zero Carbon 

On 20th August Jeremy Corbyn made a semi-surprise visit to Totem Sustainability’s offices at the BTC Stevenage (we knew it was a labour politician but not who it was). I had the opportunity to talk business and sustainability with the Labour leader and participate in a panel with Jeremy Corbyn, Sharon Taylor (Leader of the Council at Stevenage Borough Council) and Jill Borcherds (Prospective Parliamentary Labour Read more about Labour at the BTC: Energy and Net Zero Carbon […]

Energy and Carbon: Reporting must lead to actions

Last month I met up with an ex-colleague and friend, Hannah Kershaw of QinetiQ, to discuss the current state of energy and carbon standards. Instead of writing a piece myself, Hannah (who taught me most of what I know about energy and carbon), kindly agreed to provide her insights on the changing carbon and energy Read more about Energy and Carbon: Reporting must lead to actions[…]

Understanding ISO: ISO 14001 Environmental Management

What does it mean? Having worked as a lead auditor for some big certification bodies, including BM Trada and NQA, I noticed many ISO 14001 systems were implemented by individuals who were primarily quality consultants. These systems are often good enough to achieve UKAS certification, but do not maximise value for the organisation because the Read more about Understanding ISO: ISO 14001 Environmental Management[…]

Why is a Sustainability Consultancy offering ISO 9001 Quality Management?

When I first set out to build better sustainability reporting systems, it quickly became apparent that most organisations get ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) certification before starting to report their sustainability impacts, and before ISO 14001 they typically get ISO 9001 (Quality Management). Most organisations use a quality consultant to help them achieve ISO 9001, and Read more about Why is a Sustainability Consultancy offering ISO 9001 Quality Management?[…]

Understanding ISO: ISO 9001 Quality Management

What does it mean? Totem Sustainability Founder Ian Dodd gives the low down on ISO 9001 and what it can do for you and your business. Quality managers, who needs them? Always telling you what to do and not understanding the way the organisation ’really’ works? Unfortunately, this is a complaint I hear all too Read more about Understanding ISO: ISO 9001 Quality Management[…]

Understanding ISO: Who needs them?

Totem Sustainability are taking new approaches to enable organisations to achieve their aspirations through ISO management systems. Founder and CEO Ian Dodd tells us about some recent discussions he’s had about QMS and explains how ISO standards can help all organisations. Recently I was talking to some business owners based with me at the BTC Read more about Understanding ISO: Who needs them?[…]