At the moment ISO 37002 is not a certifiable standard like anti-bribery or compliance, but it is a plug-and-play into those related standards.
Five facts you need to know about ISO 37002: Whistleblowing Management Systems
After an extensive collaborative effort between leading minds in the area of whistleblowing, business ethics and compliance, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has published the voluntary guidance standard, ISO 37002: Whistleblowing Management Systems
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Five facts you need to know about ISO 37002: Whistleblowing Management Systems
After an extensive collaborative effort between leading minds in the area of whistleblowing, business ethics and compliance, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has published the voluntary guidance standard, ISO 37002: Whistleblowing Management Systems.
What is ISO 37002?
ISO 37002 “…gives guidelines for establishing, implementing and maintaining an effective whistleblowing management system based on the principles of trust, impartiality and protection in the following four steps:
1
receiving reports of wrongdoing
2
assessing reports of wrongdoing
3
addressing reports of wrongdoing
4
concluding whistleblowing cases.
More details are available at the official ISO 37002:2021 website.
1
Can organisations be “certified” under ISO 37002?
2
Are the ISO 37002 and the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive compatible?
The release of the ISO 37002 guidance is very timely, given that tens of thousands of companies in the EU will soon be obliged to implement whistleblowing channels for the first time. There is a risk of confusion though. What does the Directive require? Can the ISO guidance help? If you are wondering how the two complement one another, look no further than our recent article which maps the Directive’s requirements to the ISO guidance.
ISO37002 and the EU Whistleblower Directive: A complementary coupling?
3
Is ISO 37002 only intended for organisations in the EU, or large organisations?
No. Because the ISO standard comprehensively covers a wide range of the challenges related to setting up and managing a whistleblowing program, the guidance is not only suitable for those organisations affected by the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive, but has relevance around the world.
It is just as valuable to smaller and medium-sized companies as it is to larger companies, as it takes away some of the myths about whistleblowing systems being difficult to implement and maintain.
4
How does a systematic approach to whistleblowing, such as ISO 37002, foster transparency?
WhistleB interviewed the ISO 37002 convenor Dr. Wim Vandekerckhove earlier this year. He responded to this question as follows:
“Systems increase transparency for the top of the organisation, but they also increase transparency for people on the work floor if you implement them well. Because with proper communications around such a system, and the learning you can take from the system, you can actually show people on the work floor that there is an impartial channel, that the organisation is in fact responsive, and that if there is an issue it does get sorted. So, it’s also preventive in that it’s a signal to wrong-doers that they are not going to get away with it.”
Read the full interview with ISO convenor Dr. Wim Vandekerckhove here, including his views on how whistleblowing systems enhance business ethics and culture.
WhistleB’s whistleblowing system enables companies to implement their whistleblowing programmes in close alignment to the guidelines in ISO 37002 on whistleblowing management systems, click here for a free demo.