BUSINESS STANDARDS
is the quarterly magazine of BSI Group, highlighting the vital role that standards play in today's business environment. Regular features include interviews with leading business figures, as well as news on the latest developments in management systems and standards.
The road less travelled
25 Jul 2008
Topics: PAS 500
The London European Partnership for Transport (LEPT) has engaged BSI British Standards to develop a new Publicly Available Specification - PAS 500 - for travel plans, designed to encourage more environmentally friendly transport.
This is timely: the government-commissioned King Report, published in March 2008, examined the vehicle and fuel technologies which over the next 25 years could help to decarbonize road transport. It concluded that all large public sector bodies should have a workplace travel plan in place by 2010.
Travel plans can be designed and used by an organization to encourage safe, healthy and sustainable travel options. By reducing unnecessary car travel, such plans can improve individual health and wellbeing, make more efficient use of car parking space, improve efficiencies and make a positive contribution to the community and environment.
"We believe that the development of a national standard for this industry will improve the quality and effectiveness of travel plans, and provide a valuable resource that travel plan professionals can rely on," says Paul Henderson, European Project Manager at LEPT. "We look forward to engaging with key stakeholders to ensure that the standard is fit for purpose and a true benefit to travel planning."
An independent BSI steering group representing a cross-section of the industry has been brought together to provide feedback on the best practice specification before it goes through for stakeholder consultation. The steering group includes: LEPT, Department for Transport, National Business Travel Network, ACT Travelwise, Transport for London and an independent expert in this field. Publication is expected in November 2008.
For more information: www.bsigroup.com/july08travelplans
Business Standards © 2007. Editorial produced by Caspian Publishing in association with the British Standards Institution. Editorial opinions expressed on are not necessarily those of BSI Group or Caspian Publishing. Neither Caspian Publishing nor BSI Group accept responsibility for advertising or editorial content, nor for that appearing on linked third-party websites. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without written permission from BSI Group or Caspian Publishing.
Following extensive trials, BSI Management Systems is now offering an end-to-end Global Second Party Compliance service - called ComplytoSupply™ - to help large multinationals manage risk across multiple sites and global supply chains. These organizations may not know details about their suppliers' ethical status or management systems, especially those based in developing countries with minimal standardization. Under such circumstances, a certification-based approach to compliance is not always on the cards.
Given the forthcoming revision to ISO 9001 Quality management systems, it's a good time to remind everyone that 13 November 2008 is World Quality Day.
Are you "Fit to supply" 2012 Olympic Games?
Business Link, the support and networking agency funded primarily by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), is working with BSI to help companies in their goal to win contracts for the 2012 Olympic Games.
BSI Management Systems has been awarded global ISO/IEC 17021 accreditation by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service and the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board in the US.
"Close protection services" in the UK are intended to establish and maintain a safe working environment for a person at risk. Close protection operatives - otherwise known as bodyguards - face the unique challenge of using their specialized training to protect their charges as they go about their duties.
Question: Do companies need to verify their carbon footprint?
Unless a business is regulated by some form of greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting and/or cap-and-trade regulation (as is the case for some 12,000 installations in Europe), rarely is there the need to either calculate or verify the accuracy of a carbon footprint.
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