Episodios

  • #231 Evaluating Compliance within ISO Management

    #231 Evaluating Compliance within ISO Management
    Sep 24 2025
    When stating ISO Management System ‘compliance’, that in reality means the conformance to ISO Standard requirements, compliance in ISO terminology actually refers to compliance with legal and other statutory regulations. It may sound like semantics, but the difference is distinct for a reason, as you don’t get a ‘non-compliance’ for not meeting requirements, rather you get a ‘non-conformity’. When it comes to compliance with the law as required by ISO Standards, you need more than a Legal Register to prove compliance. In this episode, Ian Battersby dives into what is meant by compliance in ISO, how this relates to legal and statutory requirements, and how businesses can effectively evaluate compliance. You’ll learn · What is the difference between ‘Compliance’ and ‘Conformity’? · What are the different types of compliance requirements? · How do Acts and Regulations work in tandem? · Who enforces legal compliance requirements? · Where do these requirements sit in ISO Standards? · How do you prove compliance within ISO management? · How do you evaluate effective compliance? Resources · Isologyhub · From Silos to Synergy: The benefits of Implementing an Integrated ISO Management System Webinar registration In this episode, we talk about: [00:30] Upcoming webinar: If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of integrated management systems, feel free to register for our upcoming webinar here. [01:30] Episode Summary – Ian Battersby discusses the topic of compliance within ISO Standards, and how you can effectively evaluate it within your Management System. [02:30] What is the difference between ‘Compliance’ and ‘Conformity’? It’s a common misconception that you ‘comply’ with an ISO Standard, when in reality, you conform to an ISO Standard, hence why you can receive a ‘non-conformity’ in audits and not ‘noncompliance’. When we talk about compliance within ISO Management, this refers to compliance with the law, regulations and other statutory requirements, as this is a requirement within all ISO Standards. [03:50] What are the different types of compliance requirements? There are many different types of law, Ian focuses on what is known as statute law legislation, as this is distinct from common law, case law and constitutional conventions. Statute law legislation is clearly written and can be cited in something like a Legal Register, or Register of Compliance Obligations. There are different types of legislation that you’ll need to document, including: Primary Legislation: These are put in place by acts of UK Parliament and may have involvement from devolved administrations as well. Statutory compliance refers to compliance with primary legislation. An example of this type of legislation includes the Health & Safety at Work Act. Secondary or delegated legislation: Those primary Acts often require a lot more detail regarding the practicalities of applying them, which is delivered through Secondary or delegated legislation, otherwise more commonly known as regulations. These have more input from relevant public bodies to provide the requirements that can be applied. Both regulations are issues under Statutory Instruments (SI's), which are the formal legal vehicle that gives them effect. Put simply, regulations are the rules and Statutory Instruments are the legal mechanism which brings those rules into effect. [06:05] How Acts and Regulations work in tandem: Taking the Health & Safety at Work Act as an example, at the start this was quite a broad and generic act, it wasn’t until years later that the workplace health, safety and welfare regulations came about to support the Act. This was further bolstered with the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations. Both regulations were developed through consultation between Government departments and other bodies such as the Health & Safety Executive. These regulations gave companies much more detail on what’s actually required in order to comply with the Health & Safety at Work Act. [06:50] Who enforces legal requirements? – It’s not just the police that enforce legal requirements, there are a number of other bodies independent of government and the judiciary that can enforce regulations and prosecute for breaches caused by organisations and individuals. This can include bodies such as The Health & Safety Executive, The Financial Conduct Authority, The Environment Agency and the Information Commissioners Office. There are more for other areas, and these are often the bodies involved in the development of specific regulations. [07:45] Where do these requirements sit in ISO Standards? As Is the case with ISO Standards, the requirement for compliance is sprinkled throughout the whole document. Starting with Clause 4 Context. Here ‘Interested parties’ are a...
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    31 m
  • #230 Driving ISO Implementation – Meet the Consultant: Anju Punetha

    #230 Driving ISO Implementation – Meet the Consultant: Anju Punetha
    Sep 17 2025
    How often have you heard someone say they aspire to be an ISO consultant? Likely not at all! That’s not surprising as it’s quite a niche world to find yourself in, yet despite that, there are still thousands of ISO professionals worldwide. We’re continuing with our latest mini-series where we introduce members of our team, to explore how they fell into the world of ISO and discuss the common challenges they face while helping clients achieve ISO certification. In this episode we introduce Anju Punetha, a QHSE Consultant at Blackmores, to share the journey of how she transitioned from special education in India, to ISO consultancy for international organisations. You’ll learn · What is Anju’s role at Blackmores? · What does Anju enjoy outside of consultancy? · What path did Anju take to become an ISO Consultant? · What is the biggest challenge she’s faced when implementing ISO Standards? · What is Anju’s biggest achievement? Resources · Isologyhub · From Silos to Synergy: The benefits of Implementing an Integrated ISO Management System Webinar registration In this episode, we talk about: [02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Anju Punetha, a QHSE Consultant here at Blackmores, to discuss her journey towards becoming an ISO consultant who specialises in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001, ISO 20121 and ISO 55001. [04:05] What is Anju’s role at Blackmores? Her role primarily involves supporting clients in two key areas: maintaining and continually improving their existing ISO management systems and helping them establish and implement new standards. As part of that support, she: · Conduct internal audits · Reviews and updates management system documentation · Facilitate management reviews · Train internal teams and prepare them for certification audits. When implementing a new ISO standard, she’ll start with a gap analysis – i.e comparing their current practices against the standard’s requirements. Then break down those requirements into simple, easy-to-understand language and create a practical plan to bridge the gaps. Depending on the standard, she may also facilitate strategic business risk assessments, environmental aspects and impacts assessments, or information security risk assessments. Additionally, Anju helps clients develop and implement policies and procedures, create legal and compliance registers, and verify their readiness for certification body audits. [05:55] What does Anju enjoy doing outside of consultancy?: Anju loves spending time outdoors with long walks being her go-to, as they help her unwind both physically and mentally. She also enjoys cooking for her family and friends. Experimenting with different cuisines and blending spices is something Anju finds incredibly relaxing. [08:00] What was Anju’s path towards becoming an ISO Consultant?: Like many of the Blackmores team, Anju never planned to become an ISO consultant. She began her career as a Special Educator, working with children with special needs in India. Later, she transitioned into the development sector as a Research Assistant, working on projects funded by The World Bank and the UN World Food Programme. These projects focused on microfinance, training and development, and women & child health. However, that role involved a lot of travel, which became challenging after the birth of her first son. So, Anju decided that would be a good time to take a career break. When Anju was ready to return to work, she looked for an office-based role which resulted in her joining Ericsson, a Swedish Networking and Telecommunication Company as support staff, and progressed upwards to become the Learning and Development Manager at their rapidly growing Global Service Centre in India. This involved managing training requirements of an employee base of around 4000+ employees, involvement in stakeholder management at all levels and vendor management. As part of the Operational Excellence initiatives, she also got involved in preparing different business teams for their internal and external audits. During that time, Anju became interested in Ericsson’s Group Management System, which all legal entities had to comply with. She then moved into the newly formed Quality Department and helped them to gain various ISO certifications. She was the Project Leader for implementing Ericsson’s Operational Maturity Model compliant to the requirements of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001 and OHSAS 18001 (ISO 45001’s predecessor). Joining Blackmores as an ISO Consultant felt like a natural next step when she relocated to UK. She’s now been a member of our team for over six years, and continues to inspire others with her level of dedication to her work and clients. [13:35] What is Anju’s favourite aspect of being a Consultant? – The variation in ...
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    30 m
  • #229 From Platform To Proof – How To Tackle Your Scope 3 Emissions

    #229 From Platform To Proof – How To Tackle Your Scope 3 Emissions
    Sep 10 2025
    One of the biggest challenges for those looking to achieve Net Zero is tackling scope 3 emissions, which are indirect emissions that typically reside in your supply chain. These can account for up to 70% of your total emissions and can be quite the undertaking to gather the necessary data to be able to complete your calculations needed for carbon verification. In the final episode of the Platform to Proof mini-series, we invite Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, back onto the podcast to explain how to tackle scope 3 emissions, how it works in practice and how carbon accounting software can streamline the process. You’ll learn · What are scope 3 emissions? · What are the drivers for those tackling scope 3 emissions? · Where to start with scope 3 emissions · How does supply chain engagement work in practice? · What are the benefits for suppliers involved? · How can carbon accounting software help with scope 3 emissions? Resources · Gravity · Carbonology In this episode, we talk about: [02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, who will accompany Mel on a 3-part mini-series diving into carbon accounting software and the value it can bring. In this final part, Mel and Jay dive into scope 3 emissions, the challenges associated with gathering them and how carbon accounting software can help streamline this process. [02:30] Catch-up on the first part – If you missed the first two parts of the series, catch-up with them here: · Part 1: From Platform To Proof – What Is The Business Driver For Carbon Accounting And Reporting? · Part 2: From Platform To Proof – How Carbon Accounting Software and Verification Combine for Carbon Compliance [03:50] What are scope 3 emissions?: The term ‘scope 3’ comes from a document and initiative called the GHG Protocol, which sets out the core methodology by which companies should measure account for their greenhouse gas emissions. It details 3 different scopes, scope 1 is your direct emissions (i.e. fuel for vehicle use ect), Scope 2 is grid emissions associated with purchased electricity or other forms of energy (i.e. energy for offices). Scope 3 is a very broad term and addresses the emissions created by your value / supply chain. This could include things like transportation of resources you require from a third-party. These emissions can count to upwards of 70% of a companies total emissions, depending on the nature of the business that can even go as high as 90%! [06:50] What are the drivers for those tackling scope 3 emissions? Jay summaries 3 of the main drivers: Biggest emission source: For those looking to truly hit Net Zero, they can’t simply ignore their largest emission source. It poses the biggest risk to the company, so it’s in their best interest to reduce them where possible. Of course, this isn’t easy as it may involve swapping suppliers or working with existing ones to make their practices more sustainable. It’s not as straight forward as addressing your scope 1 and 2 emissions. Regulation requirement: Scope 3 is increasingly being included within mandatory regulations, whereas in previous years, it may have been a voluntary part of those requirements. For example, the new regulations coming into effect for California in 2026 will see around 10,000 companies needing to report on their scope 3 emissions. In the EU, regulations such as CSRD also require reporting on these emissions. Though these haven’t been made mandatory as of yet, we can see that changing in future. Stakeholder requirement changes: Customers and other stakeholders are asking for more evidence of meaningful sustainability action. Supply chain initiatives now are gearing more towards sustainable procurement, which coincides with the rise of CSR related activities. This drive to evaluate your supply chain is being pushed from all directions. [09:55] Where to start with scope 3 emissions: Likely stating the obvious, but ensure you have addressed your scope 1 and 2 emissions first. When looking to your scope 3 emissions, you’ll first need to determine which of the 15 emission categories is going to be important for your business to get a handle on. The nature of your business will determine which of the categories are a priority, so if you’re a digital service based business, then the raw materials category likely won’t be very appliable to you so you’d only need to provide a very high-level summary of any related emissions. For those categories that are a priority, you should identify how in-depth you would need to get with the data analytics, and create a strategy for each of those categories. If you’re struggling to start, there are some industry average statistics out there to help you with those ...
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    25 m
  • #228 From Platform To Proof – How Carbon Accounting Software and Verification Combine for Carbon Compliance

    #228 From Platform To Proof – How Carbon Accounting Software and Verification Combine for Carbon Compliance
    Sep 3 2025
    As the sustainability crisis grows more pressing each passing year, companies are increasingly being required to comply with various sustainability regulations and legislation, most of which include the need to monitor and verify your carbon emissions. Calculating these carbon emissions can be tricky, especially if you have a lot of sites or international locations that require conversions. This is where dedicated carbon accounting software can save you a lot of headache! In the second episode of the Platform to Proof mini-series, we invite Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, back onto the podcast to discuss how carbon accounting software can be utilised on your carbon verification journey, and explore the additional benefits provided by this technology. You’ll learn · What is the role of carbon accounting platforms and how does carbon accounting software help to overcome the challenges that organisations are facing today? · How does carbon accounting software work? · What additional benefits are there from using carbon accounting software? · Why is carbon verification becoming increasingly important? · How can carbon accounting software encourage a culture shift? Resources · Gravity · Carbonology In this episode, we talk about: [02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, who will accompany Mel on a 3-part mini-series diving into carbon accounting software and the value it can bring. In this second episode Mel and Jay explore how carbon accounting software and verification work together for carbon compliance, in addition to the other benefits companies can gain from utilising carbon software. [02:30] Catch-up on the first part – If you missed our first episode in the series, go back and listen to that before continuing. It gives a more in-depth introduction to Jay, Gravity and carbon accounting software in general. [04:05] What is the role of carbon accounting platforms and how does carbon accounting software help to overcome the challenges that organisations are facing today?: Jay has had many conversations with those that have had challenges historically with gathering the data needed for carbon calculation and verification. As we see more regulations and legislation, this challenge is passed down to those just starting on their journey. Carbon accounting software can help ease the burden involved with these tasks. This can come in the form of making it easy to aggregate the data and doing the necessary calculations while maintaining a trail of where all that information comes from. There’s also an audit trail available for the calculations done, which can be monitored and dug down further into. There’s scope in many dedicated carbon accounting platforms for you to be able to dig deeper into your data if needed. Lastly, this level of transparency in the data is often a requirement of going through full carbon verification in alignment with best practice standards (such as ISO 14064). Ultimately, carbon accounting software can make the verification process go a lot more smoothly. [09:05] How does carbon accounting software work? Jay breaks this down to help define the purpose of carbon accounting software, and the additional benefits it can bring, including: A centralised place for carbon data: Often times, businesses need to pull data from a wide variety of places, and collating that data is always a challenge. Dedicated software allows for easier collection and storage of data from all of the necessary sources, such as utilities, logistics and finance. Carbon accounting software will often allow for integrations that allow for existing systems to feed data into the software without any extra burden. With the addition of AI tools, they can even allow for automatic document processing that can interpret the meaning of utility bills, fuel invoices, waste receipts ect to save on manual data entry. Carbon calculation: Another headache associated with carbon reporting is the calculation utilising all that data you’ve painstakingly collected. There’re often additional layers such as conversion or emission factors that need to be considered when making these calculations. Carbon Accounting Software can do all of this for you, saving you the trouble and potential of making mistakes. This in addition to the transparency offered as the software will provide an audit trail to show how it arrived at the final numbers. Carbon Reporting: This isn’t a feature in all carbon related software, but it can be another time saver if you find one that does. The raw calculations data will only get you so far, and that alone may not be enough to meet the requirements of whichever framework you need to comply with. Carbon software can assist with putting those calculations into a ...
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    24 m
  • #227 From Platform To Proof – What Is The Business Driver For Carbon Accounting And Reporting?

    #227 From Platform To Proof – What Is The Business Driver For Carbon Accounting And Reporting?
    Aug 27 2025
    One of the biggest hurdles for businesses when embarking on their journey to net zero is the calculation required for carbon verification. Depending on the nature and size of a business, it can be quite the undertaking! Those looking to tackle this challenge have various options available to them, including the use of dedicated carbon accounting software, which we’ll explore in our latest mini-series: From Platform to Proof. In the first episode of this series, we introduce Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, to explore the key drivers behind carbon accounting and reporting and how you can maximise value from going through the process. You’ll learn · Who is Jay Ruckelshaus? · Who are Gravity? · Why do businesses measure their carbon footprint? · Why is the language of business value becoming more important for sustainability professionals? · What are the key drivers for carbon accounting? · How has GHG emissions reporting helped to drive business value? · What should businesses be thinking about to maximise business value? · How can businesses keep up with ever changing sustainability legislation? · The importance of data quality · How can carbon accounting software help? Resources · Gravity · Carbonology In this episode, we talk about: [02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Jay Ruckelshaus, Co-Founder and Head of Policy and Partnerships at Gravity, who will accompany Mel on a 3-part mini-series diving into carbon accounting software and the value it can bring. In this first episode, they explore the key drivers behind carbon accounting and reporting, and how businesses can maximise the value from the process. [03:10] Who is Jay Ruckelshaus? Jay’s involvement in sustainability was almost an inevitability, coming from a family of environmental lawyers. Energy, climate and sustainability were topics that often came up at the dinner table, and so it remained a subject near and dear to his heart. Initially, Jay thought he would remain in the academic world, studying polarisation and exploring how energy intensive industries think about sustainability. He found his enthusiasm spiked when working directly with companies and individuals on these topics. As a result, he broke out of the academic world to join forces with a few technology leaders to develop a solution to help businesses measure and reduce their emissions. [04:45] Who are Gravity?: Jay founded Gravity 4 years ago (2021). It provides a carbon and energy management platform, which assists businesses with compliance to the alphabet soup of sustainability legislation currently in effect, such as CSRD and TCFD. This platform also uses the data collected to help businesses find and invest in projects to help reduce their emissions, which ultimately saves on energy, costs and utilities. Their aim was to make it easier for businesses to report their emissions, by streamlining the collection process, and using the data to pre-qualify potential vendors that would fit the businesses needs when it comes to the reduction phase. Jay initially started with emissions heavy industries such as construction, manufacturing logistics, utilities, metals, mining, energy ect. These are industries where data collection can be very challenging, so it provided a very solid base for their software so that it could tackle these challenges first and provide a way for them to work with various e-commerce, software companies and financial institutions, all within one system. [09:05] Why do businesses measure their carbon footprint? Historically, back in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, sustainability was often wrapped up in the wider corporate social responsibility movement. We’ve seen a lot of change in the last decade, where we used to have strictly voluntary schemes such as CSR, that are now transitioning into a requirement. Whether that be by stakeholders or legislation. We’ve also seen a greater interest in ESG metrics, which require solid figures to back up your claims. This trend follows from the introduction of mandatory legislation from the European Union’s CSRD, which is trickling into California law as around 10,000 companies of a certain size that operate in California must now disclose their carbon emissions. [11:40] Why is the language of business value becoming more important for sustainability professionals? It wasn’t too long ago that sustainability professionals were lumped in with groups that managed general social responsibility. We’re seeing more dedicated and senior roles in relation to sustainability, such as ‘Chief Sustainability Officer’. These roles now integrate with most every branch of an organisation, from the financial reporting to the general strategy for the business. It becomes a central part of the business. Its...
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    34 m
  • #226 Driving ISO Implementation – Meet the Consultant: Minoo Agarwal

    #226 Driving ISO Implementation – Meet the Consultant: Minoo Agarwal
    Aug 20 2025
    Becoming an ISO consultant isn’t a career path many aspire to, rather it’s one often stumbled on after being tasked with either implementing or maintaining a Standard for a business. We’re continuing with our latest mini-series where we introduce members of our team, to explore how they fell into the world of ISO and discuss the common challenges they face while helping clients achieve ISO certification. In this episode we introduce Minoo Agarwal, a QHSE Consultant at Blackmores, to learn about her journey of following in her father’s footsteps towards ISO Standards Management, and what drives her to help clients on their ISO journey. You’ll learn · What is Minoo’s role at Blackmores? · What does Minoo enjoy outside of consultancy? · What path did Minoo take to become an ISO Consultant? · What is the biggest challenge she’s faced when implementing ISO Standards? · What is Minoo’s biggest achievement? Resources · Isologyhub In this episode, we talk about: [02:05] Episode Summary – We introduce Minoo Agarwal, a QHSE Consultant here at Blackmores, to discuss her journey towards becoming an ISO consultant who specialises in ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 27001. [03:50] What is Minoo’s role at Blackmores? Minno’s official job title is QHSE Consultant. She is the ISO14001:2015 standard champion and a Mental Health First Aider for Blackmores. Ultimately, Minoo supports clients with embedding Management System into the heart of their companies. Her work with them typically consists of: · Conducting internal audits · Management review · Consultancy days or document review days Essentially doing whatever it takes to getting the management system to be at a suitable level to pass external audits. [05:05] What does Minoo enjoy doing outside of consultancy?: Minoo’s free time is mostly taken up by her dear son, Aarav. He’s very young at the moment; and so Minoo makes sure that any of her input into his life is to ensure that he is successful in whatever career he chooses. In addition, Aarav has a very busy social life! So, she’s makes sure her gets plenty of time to play with his friends. Minoo is also a bit of a foodie, enjoying eating out when possible. She also enjoys reading books by authors such as Jay Shetty and the Sad Guru. [07:10] What was Minoo’s path towards becoming an ISO Consultant?: Minoo, like many of our consultants, didn’t know that she would become a consultant. The opportunity was presented by Mel Blackmore via LinkedIn in 2019, on April 1st of all dates! Minoo’s passion for this field arose from her father, Mr Hardial Agarwal, who is very well known in the industry. He worked as a consultant for Crayola for many years, travelling abroad to meet with various suppliers and international branches of the company. His work always held an air of mystery to Minoo as a child, and she become more curious about his role in later years, even attending CQI meetings with her father to learn more. She started her career in 2006 as a Quality, Environmental, Health & Safety Administrator and since then really never looked back, progressing from role to role from roles like Quality Associate, to a Business Quality Control Officer, to a QESH Auditor, to HSQE Compliance Manager and then as a Head of Quality. Each role gave her a different experience of life. As a result, she has worked in many industries ranging from electronics to logistics to pharma and even automotive and IT. She feels very fortunate to gain experience and knowledge from a range of industries from her previous roles, and now more so from Blackmores where this knowledge develops further. [12:35] What is Minoo’s favourite aspect of being a Consultant? – Minoo genuinely loves her role as a consultant at Blackmores, it was hard to narrow down a specific aspect. That being said, Minoo loves to hear when a client of hers has passed their surveillance and re-certification audits, especially if it was with no findings. It’s a return on their combined effort as a team to get recognition of that fact from a certification body. She also enjoys the teamwork involved, often being seen as a real member of the client’s team. As a consultant, a bid part of your role is building strong working relationships, which makes the whole process run a lot more smoothly. She also takes a bit of joy in being able to be a bit bossy, though all the guidance is with the best intentions. [15:40] What Standards does Minoo specilaise in and why? Starting with: · ISO 9001 Quality Management: A core foundation that many businesses start with when diving into the world of ISO Standards. This is an essential one for any ISO consultant and is often the first Implementation experience for many who go on to become ISO consultants. · ISO 14001 Environmental ...
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    25 m
  • #225 Culligan International’s Carbon Verification Success – Tackling Scope 1 and 2 Emissions

    #225 Culligan International’s Carbon Verification Success – Tackling Scope 1 and 2 Emissions
    Aug 13 2025
    The process of verifying your carbon emissions requires a lot of data gathering, number crunching and in some cases conversion if you’re international. It’s certainly no small task! However, it’s worth the effort. With it completed you will have a much better idea of your current impact and be able to make better informed decisions on how to reduce it. When starting out on your verification journey you’ll need to start with calculating your scope 1 & 2 emissions, these are the direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that your business is responsible for. That alone can be quite a mammoth task, especially if you have a lot of locations worldwide, such is the case as today’s guest: Culligan. In this episode, Mel is joined by Martin Murden, ESG Manager at Culligan International, to discuss why Culligan started their verification journey, the key insights uncovered, and the challenges involved with calculating emissions for a large international organisation. You’ll learn · Who is Martin Murden? · Who are Culligan International? · Why are Culligan seeking third-party verification for scope 1 & 2? · Key insights uncovered as a result of verification · What changes have they made to their data collection processes? · How did internal teams find the experience? · How have Culligan utilised verified data? · What is the biggest misconception about the verification process? Resources · Culligan International · Carbonology · Culligan 2024 ESG Report In this episode, we talk about: [02:05] Episode Summary – Mel Blackmore is joined by Martin Murden, ESG Manager at Culligan, to discuss their carbon verification journey and explore the challenges associated with calculating scope 1 & 2 emissions for a large international organisation. [03:25] Who is Martin Murden? Martin is an ESG Manager at Culligan, his role focuses more on the environmental aspect of ESG compliance. His main role involves looking after Culligan’s carbon emissions, carbon reduction plan, evaluating use of resources and exploring initiatives to reduce their current impact. One fun fact that not many people know about Martin, one of his ancestors was involved in the creation of Turkish delight! [06:25] Who are Culligan International? Culligan International are a global leader in water services. Their solutions provide cleaner, safer, better tasting water. While not a household name here in the UK, chances are if you’re refilling a bottle from a cooler, it’s likely derived from one of Culligan’s brands. They own over 100 businesses in over 40 countries, with more than 600 sites ranging from warehouses and offices to production and water bottling plants. They also manage 7000 vehicles which help with delivering, installing and maintaining their equipment. With over 15,000 people working at Culligan, it’s clear to say that it’s a large organisation with a lot of moving parts. They keep sustainability at the heart of their business, working to discourage the use of single use plastic, and looking at other ways to reduce their impact via their supply chain. [08:45] Why did Culligan seek third-party carbon verification? – There were a few reasons, including: - Regulatory requirements: Being a global business, there are a number of mandatory reporting requirements coming down the pipeline in certain countries they operate in, such as Australia and Mexico, Canada, California. Accuracy: Part of these requirements is assuring the transparency and accuracy of the data. Third-party assurance is essential to meet mandatory reporting requirements, in addition to being an added level of assurance for stakeholders. From an internal point of view, it also gives the ESG team more confidence in the gathered data, allowing them to form a more robust baseline for their decarbonisation strategy. [10:15] Culligan’s decarbonisation strategy – In 2024, Culligan published a number of commitments, one of those was to reduce its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 40% by 2035. They built a decarbonisation plan based on information that they had available internally. This consisted of looking at vehicle fleet use and facilities use, how large they are and what kind of energy sources they use. They also spoke to individual business units to understand where it may be possible to switch to renewable energy sources, how initial energy use could be reduced and making use of lower carbon vehicles. They were confident in their ability to reduce their impact, but they needed that third-party assurance that their initial baseline was as accurate as possible. [11:35] Is this the first time Culligan has gone through a formal verification process? – While they have measured their carbon emissions since 2022, they have never formally gone through the full verification ...
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    39 m
  • #224 Greater Anglia’s Ongoing Success With ISO 55001 Asset Management

    #224 Greater Anglia’s Ongoing Success With ISO 55001 Asset Management
    Jul 31 2025
    Asset Management can be explained as a systematic process of planning, operating, maintaining, upgrading and replacing assets cost-effectively with minimum risk and at the expected levels of service over the assets’ life cycle. One sector where effective asset management can make a huge difference is public transportation, with organisations having to keep track of an exhaustive list of costly vehicles and infrastructure. Long time listeners may recall a previous episode where we interviewed the train operator, Greater Anglia, after they successfully achieved ISO 55001, the best practice standard for asset management. Now 3 years on, they’ve been recently recertified and have learned a lot since their initial certification. In this episode, Andrew Barnes, Head of Asset Management at Greater Anglia, joins Ian Battersby to discuss how they currently manage their ISO 55001 certification, what they’ve learned in the past 3 years since certification and the benefits of effective asset management. You’ll learn · Who is Andrew Barnes? · Who are Greater Anglia? · How do Greater Anglia manage their ISO 55001 certification? · What lessons have been learned since their initial certification? · What are the main benefits of ISO 55001? · Andrew’s top tip for ISO Implementation Resources · Isologyhub · Greater Anglia · ISO Support Plan In this episode, we talk about: [02:05] Episode Summary – Ian Battersby is joined by Andrew Barnes, Head of Asset Management at Greater Anglia, to discuss their experience with being certified to ISO 55001 for the past 3 years, explaining the lessons learned and benefits gained. [03:25] Who is Andrew Barnes? Andy is currently the Head of Asset Management at Greater Anglia. A fun fact that not many people know about him is that he was part of the Lord Mayor’s Show in the 80’s, though he had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction that ended with him getting a stern talking to! Andy has been working in the railways since 1985, starting as an apprentice with British Rail. [05:15] Who are Greater Anglia? Greater Anglia are a train operator who took over from National Express, East Anglia back in 2012. They serve the Anglia region from Liverpool Street Station, and are unusual among railway companies in that they are under a full repairing and insuring lease. This differs from most who have station access conditions, where the responsibility for maintenance and repair is split between Network Rail and the train operator. They currently operate 134 stations, with 2 more under construction which are Burley Park (due to open in October 2025) and Cambridge South (opening in early 2026). In addition to the stations, they also own 7 depots for train stabling and maintenance. So in short, a lot of assets to keep track of! [07:40] Extra asset requirements – They are also now challenged on cleanliness at train stations. This involves mystery shoppers visiting stations and marking them against certain criteria to give a score, which Greater Anglia tend to score quite highly. They also have to inspect all of their assets on a conditioned surveying scheme, the scores of which need to be communicated to Network Rail. [09:00] Andy’s role as Head of Asset Management – Andy is relatively new to this role, becoming the Head of Asset Management in April 2025. He has a team of asset inspectors that conduct the condition surveys internally. He’s also responsible for the Engineer Insurance Team, part of their role is to determine the technical aspects of large schemes that require focused designs. [10:05] How do Greater Anglia manage their ISO certifications? – In addition to ISO 55001, Greater Anglia also hold ISO 9001 and a number of standards specific to engineering. They have benefitted from 3rd party support in the form of utilising Blackmores consultancy to help gain certification and aid with on-going support for internal audits. Their processes and procedures are all managed by their Project Management Team, who conduct regular reviews against ISO requirements to ensure they stay relevant and in alignment with best practice. They also have a strategic asset management plan, risk register and continuous improvement plans in place to address various elements of both asset management and general quality management. Like with most ISO Standards, there’s a lot of crossover in the requirements, so elements of each certification can easily be integrated and used to bolster an existing management system. [11:15] The benefit of a maturing management system – Andy is quite keen on learning from their maturing management system. Through effective implementation, you can look back and see what’s working well and where improvements can be made. Having a certain level of management system maturity enables you to make more informed continual ...
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