Transitioning from BS 25999-2 to ISO 22301

Information and support to assist BSI clients in making the transition

In May 2012, the ISO published ISO 22301: Societal security - Business continuity management system - Requirements. ISO 22301 is the new international Standard for business continuity management. The good news for BS 25999 certification customers is that the additional requirements are not too difficult.  

BSI will be able to assess your organization to the new Standard during your usual continuing assessment visits, providing good progress is being made towards the expiry deadline that is fast approaching. You and your BSI Client Manager will need to agree in advance, of future visits, when you are ready to be transitioned to the new Standard.

ISO 22301:2012 will supersede BS 25999-2. This means that any organization holding a certificate to BS 25999-2:2007 wishing to retain business continuity certification will need to demonstrate compliance to ISO 22301:2012. The deadline for BSI to ensure all of our clients are through transition is 31 May 2014, which means we are urging organisations to transfer to ISO 22301 by the end of March 2014 to allow time for our independent review process and certificate issue before the expiry date. It is important that you commence this process much earlier as failure to complete your transition by 31 May 2014, will result in the expiry of your certification. 

What are the main changes?

• First standard to be written using the new high level structure, which is common to all new management systems standards. This will allow easy integration when implementing more than one management system
• Change in the way an organization is defined
• Clearer expectations on management
• Preventive action has been replaced with “actions to address risks and opportunities” and features earlier
• ISO 22301 puts a much greater emphasis on setting the objectives, monitoring performance and metrics – aligning BC to top management strategic thinkingFind out more about the changes in our on demand webinar

Small and medium-sized businesses that implement ISO 22301 can improve their resilience in the same way as larger organizations. We know that you may have tighter budgets and less time and resources to put the necessary business continuity management processes in place. That’s why we provide packages that are tailored to your business and the threats you face, enabling you enhance your disaster management. We can customize your package to include only the services you need – removing the unnecessary cost and complexity of implementing ISO 22301.

We can help you identify essential business functions and the ways in which they could be impacted by incidents. Let us show you how to protect critical functions and minimize the impact of disruptions. You’ll see how ISO 22301 can put you in a better position when competing for new business and improve supply chain resilience. 

We pioneered standards more than 100 years ago and today we’re the market leader. We help over 65,000 organizations ranging from top global brands to small ambitious businesses in 150 countries to gain an edge over their competitors. As one of the few organizations that understands standards from start to finish, we don’t only assess how well you’re meeting the standards, but also we create new standards from scratch and train teams globally to use them and perform better. Our knowledge can transform your organization.