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Question: Can standards really help minimize the need for regulation?

Regulation and legislation keep business on a level playing field and help mitigate against risk, as was acknowledged by The Hampton Review in 2005.

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Question: Does business really need an integrated management systems standard?

Integrate or disintegrate - which would you choose? Some ten years ago the environmental standard, ISO 14001, was born and there are now over 100,000 organizations registered to it worldwide.

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Question: Can you really measure customer satisfaction?

The simple answer is yes. Two years ago, BSI Management Systems took our customer- focused strategy to the next level by introducing a satisfaction survey for our clients.

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Question: what is the value of a "non-
standard" standard, such as a PAS?

The PAS, or Publicly Available Specification, forms part of our spectrum of standards information ranging from full international consensus to bespoke individual company advice.

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We are under increasing pressure to comply with a growing number of regulations and to maintain growth - while under greater scrutiny than ever before. How can this be good for business?

We are all in the risk management business. In the current climate, as consumers we are encouraged to claim compensation or sue for damages for almost any negative incident we encounter.

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Question: We are under increasing pressure to comply with a growing number of regulations and to maintain growth - while under greater scrutiny than ever before. How can this be good for business?

We are all in the risk management business. In the current climate, as consumers we are encouraged to claim compensation or sue for damages for almost any negative incident we encounter.

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Question: What impact do you think BCM could have on business insurance in the future?

It is essential that any business suffering a disaster is able to continue as near normal trading in the shortest possible time period to survive. To achieve this, an organization should implement a comprehensive well-tested business continuity plan (BCP) as a first step. Insurance should be viewed as an extension to the BCP process, not an alternative.

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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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Question: Why is risk management important to business?

First, there's more to risk management than just managing risk. Most organizations will talk about risk assessments, but the question is: what are they assessing? If you don't know what the threats are, then how can you conduct an effective risk assessment?