Help notes: GOVERNANCE HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS
The ‘higher level’ questions are more aspirational. You may wish to work towards the minimum level questions first.
The higher level help notes are less detailed than for minimum level questions but will help point to you towards more information and examples related to those topics.
Is your organisation a member of any standards bodies relevant to your industry?
This question is about joining groups or initiatives which demonstrate responsible business practices or tackle important issues together.
Examples around business practice are the Director Competency Framework (Institute of Directors), the Good Business Charter or B Corporations. Examples of memberships around important issues are Unseen (supports victims of modern slavery) and environmental accreditations like the Green Accord, Investors in the Environment, the Green Mark, or the Carbon Trust Standard. These are not the only examples.
Does your organisation comply with any ISO standards?
This question is about ISO standard accreditation. ISO standards are recognised internationally and involve following a set of agreed guidelines for the best way to do something.
There are thousands of ISO standards published across a wide range of industries. The British Standards Institution adopts many of these as their own standards.
Some examples of ISO standards are ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety), ISO 14001 (environmental management) and ISO 27001 (Cyber Security).
Can you confirm that no health and safety incidents covered by RIDDOR have taken place at your organisation in the past two years?
This question is about monitoring and minimising health and safety incidents defined by the UK law on this. “Incidents” cover things like work-related injuries, accidents, industrial diseases and deaths.
The UK Health and Safety Executive provides more information about RIDDOR, which stands for “Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations”.