Key benefits of integrating the new ISO 37301 and ISO 37001

This article highlights the benefits of the integration that the new ISO 37301 standard together with the ISO 37001 standard have to organizations.

The decision to adopt both, the new ISO 37301 and the ISO 37001 standards, should take into account the context of the organization, the results of the compliance and bribery risk assessments, the requirements of the interested parties that are relevant to the ISO management systems, the regulatory authorities, and the identification of the organization’s compliance obligations.

It is common for an organization to improve the way it operates to achieve conformity with the requirements specified in ISO 37001, as well as to be in compliance with ISO 37301, and then make the necessary improvements, so one can fulfill the requirements of the other.

However, the organization should be aware of the differences that the rationales for adopting ISO 37301 and ISO 37001 have:

• The adoption of ISO 37301 is to establish a good governance, with elements such as integrity, culture, conformity, reputation, values and ethics, while also identifying and managing the organization’s compliance obligations in order to satisfy a wide spectrum of regulatory obligations;
• The adoption of ISO 37001 is often predominantly motivated by the wish or the need to demonstrate to interested parties that the organization has put in place adequate measures to prevent, detect, and respond to corruption, while aiming to avoid or reduce its corporate criminal liability as well as its negative media exposure if acts of bribery are or have been committed within its sphere of activity. This can be done preventively, but also after or in the course of a prosecution for bribery in order to demonstrate that further instances of bribery are unlikely to occur.

It is important to highlight that conformity with ISO 37001 cannot provide assurance that no bribery has occurred or will occur in relation to the organization, as it is not possible to completely eliminate the risk of bribery. Nevertheless, ISO 37001 can help the organization to implement reasonable and proportionate controls designed to prevent, detect and respond to bribery.

As it is well-known, bribery is one of the world’s most destructive and challenging issues. With over US$ 1.5 trillion paid in bribes every year according to the World Bank estimates, the consequences are catastrophic – reducing quality of life, increasing poverty and eroding public trust. It is a major obstacle to democracy and the rule of law. As such, ISO 37001 is considered to be a huge benefit for Civil Society.

Despite their differences, the Figure 1 shows the relationship between ISO 37301 and ISO 37001.