ISO 37001:2016 has recently been republished as ISO 37001:2025. 3 questions de Jean-Pierre Méan, member of the ISO Editorial Committee.
Why?
ISO 37001 was first published in October 2016. In accordance with ISO rules. 5 years after its publication it was submitted to a review that was completed in February 2025.
What changes have been made to the new version of the standard?
Changes have been limited to a few points:
- Adoption of the new harmonised structure to replace the old high-level structure. This structure is common to all management systems in order to facilitate their possible integration.
- Introduction of references to climate change, which were introduced in all ISO standards shortly before the revision of the standard.
- Introduction of a clause on a compliance culture
- Clarification of the role of the anti-corruption function. It now derives its responsibility and authority directly from the standard and not from them being assigned to it by management. This does not, however, prevent it from being appointed by, and reporting to management.
- Addition of a reference to conflicts of interest to the effect that the organisation must implement procedures aimed at making staff aware of the need to declare conflicts of interest, as specified for information purposes in the Appendix to the Standard and in the guidelines of a new ISO 37009 standard currently in final draft stage.
When must a certified organisation adapt to the new version of the standard?
The transition period depends on the changes introduced by the renewal. It will be set by the IAF (International Accreditation Forum) at its forthcoming meeting in April. It may be up to three years, but in this particular case it will probably be two years from 28 February 2025.
Jean-Pierre Méan has spent his professional career entirely dedicated to the fight against corruption – with roles as a Chief Legal Officer in SGS, Landis&Gyr, and Alcan Aluminium and Chief Compliance Officer with EBRD and the SGS Group,He has been President of the Swiss chapter of Transparency International. He also contributed to the development of international best practice as a member of the Anti-Corruption Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce, chairing the Task Force in charge of issuing the 2011 Edition of the ICC Rules on Combating Corruption. Jean-Pierre is also the representative of Switzerland in ISO committees. As such, he played an active role and participated in the writing of the ISO standard and chaired the working group on the competencies required of ISO 37001 auditors.