JASANZ now accepting applications for Anti-Bribery (ABMS) and Business Continuity (BCMS) Schemes
- Author: JASANZ
JASANZ is pleased to announce it is now accepting applications for two new schemes, the Anti-bribery Management System (ABMS) Scheme and the Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) Scheme. These schemes are designed to help organisations improve their integrity and resilience and reduce potential operational disruption risks.
JASANZ Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) are invited to download an application pack, which includes an application form and other relevant material, from the Shared CAB Portal.
All other interested applicants are invited to submit an application through the online enquiry form. The Secretariat will review your submission and advise you of the next steps.
About the Anti-bribery Management System Scheme
Bribery is a corrosive, constant risk for organisations and their personnel. Bribery can be ‘of’ an organisation or ‘by’ an organisation. The point at which favours and gratuities and other customary practices of conducting business become ‘bribery’ is culturally and jurisdictionally dependent. Organisations can protect their reputation and reduce legal and financial risks by adopting explicit policies relating to bribery and articulating acceptable terms of conduct for personnel.
At a societal level, equality of opportunity, rule of law and fair treatment, and effective public policy and governance is dependent on minimising bribery to the full extent possible. At a purely commercial level, bribery increases business costs, impedes transparent and predictable relations, and ultimately erodes the efficiency of entire markets. Effective anti-bribery measures extend beyond simple prevention to active monitoring and structured and proportionate punishments for personnel demonstrated to be engaging in these behaviours to serve as cautionary examples and deterrents.
A systematic anti-bribery approach reinforced throughout the organisation’s culture, monitored and embedded within routine business processes, dramatically enhances its commitment to avoid bribery and mitigate its impacts. Culture is critical to the success or failure of an anti-bribery management system (ABMS).
The operation of an effective, well-regarded ABMS can be a point of differentiation in gaining customer and stakeholder trust to win legitimate business opportunities. The effective operation of such systems can be advantageous for demonstrating to courts and other legal authorities that reasonable efforts were made by an organisation to prevent, detect, and recover from bribery and its downstream effects.
An ABMS can be operated in its own right or in conjunction with other management system standards, including quality, environmental, and information security. ISO 37001 follows the common ISO High-Level Structure (HLS) and its requirements are applicable to all organisations, regardless of type, size and activity. However, the appropriate scope of scale of the system is dependent on the organisation’s operating context as related to the likelihood of risks from bribery, including but not limited to jurisdictional legal requirements, customer and other key stakeholder expectations, and the nature of decisions it makes or goods and services it provides.
An ABMS can be supplemented by additional measures that collectively address fraud, cartels and other anti-trust/competition offences, money-laundering and other corrupt behaviours.
With the increased recognition and acceptance of the need for market-based solutions for climate action, new risks of bribery have emerged relating to greenhouse gas emission minimisation and offset activities. ISO 37001 Amendment 1 (2024), ‘Climate action changes’ obligates organisations to consider the relevance of climate change to their bribery risks
Benefits of the Scheme
- Implement robust controls and processes specifically addressing risks of bribery;
- Increase trust with stakeholders;
- Demonstrate due diligence for avoiding, detecting and responding to bribery;
- Assists compliance with legal requirements and global commitments to eliminate bribery and corruption.
- Increase control over supply chains by improving the predictability and transparency of business transactions.
- Contributes to UNSDGs 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
Scheme Owner Information
The ABMS scheme is owned by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), together with international normative references endorsed as being within the scope of ISO 22301 certification by the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Agreement.
Note: This is the default scheme owner for international standards in the absence of a defined legal entity. ISO itself does not constitute a ‘Scheme Owner’ within the meaning of IAF Mandatory Document 25.
About the Business Continuity Management Systems Scheme
Business continuity is fundamental to any enduring organisation regardless of type, size, and business sector. Organisations can take deliberate actions to reduce the likelihood and impact of disruptions to their operations and to expedite recovery. When undertaken in a methodical, documented manner, such actions constitute a management system that explicitly addresses business continuity risks, including opportunities. Such a management system can be operated within a broader management system or governance structure, depending on the organisational context and complexity.
Recognising the importance of business continuity, the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) developed ISO 22301:2012 ‘ Societal security — Business continuity management systems — Requirements’. While complementary to – and intended to operate with – quality management and related management systems, the standard was also suitable for use in isolation. The standard was subsequently revised as Edition 2 in 2019 and, in 2024, was amended to incorporate the mandatory expectation that organisations consider the relevance of climate change to business continuity.
ISO 22301:2019 Security and resilience — Business continuity management systems — Requirements (Incorporating Amendment 1, Climate action changes. Ed 2024) specifies requirements to implement, maintain and improve a management system to protect against, reduce the likelihood of the occurrence of, prepare for, respond to and recover from disruptions when they arise. The extent of effort, including organisational controls, are commensurate to the amount and type of impacts the organisation determines to be acceptable following a disruption. The standard utilises the Plan (establish), Do (implement and operate), Check (monitor and review) and Act (maintain and improve) (PDCA) cycle, consistent with all contemporary ISO management system standards.
Certification to the BCMS Scheme applies to all types and sizes of organisations.
Benefits of the Scheme
- Ensure conformity with stated business continuity policy;
- Increased competitive advantage;
- Protect and enhance reputation and credibility;
- Reduce legal and financial exposure;
- Continue to deliver products and services at an acceptable predefined capacity during a disruption;
- Enhance resilience; and
- Contributes to UNSDGs 13 (Climate Action) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
Scheme Owner Information
The BCMS scheme is owned by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), together with international normative references endorsed as being within the scope of ISO 22301 certification by the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Agreement.
Note: This is the default scheme owner for international standards in the absence of a defined legal entity. ISO itself does not constitute a ‘Scheme Owner’ within the meaning of IAF Mandatory Document 25.
