The global economic cost of corruption is simply astounding, and it undermines the efforts of all countries to improve the lives of their citizens.

The World Economic Forum estimated, in 2018, that $3.6 trillion, or 5% of global GDP, was lost to corruption. Despite many countries’ best efforts, that situation hasn’t improved, and it is the poor and most vulnerable in the world who suffer the most from the impacts of corruption.

Systemic bribery, among other things, lowers economic growth and discourages investment. It goes hand in hand with poverty and social inequality.

2021 has been a landmark year for global anti-corruption action with efforts to step up anti-corruption initiatives and accelerate the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption – the only global and truly comprehensive legally binding instrument against this crime.

For the UN Global Agenda 2030 to take hold, renewed attention and focus must be given to curbing all forms and manifestations of corruption worldwide.

To read about which standards support fairness in public sector procurement, click here.

The benefits of anti-corruption standards to your organization

Standards are developed using a consensus-driven approach, built on a foundation of proven good practices.

The standards developers themselves are drawn from the ranks of the world’s best experts in their respective fields. Consequently, the published standards are designed to be applicable to all organizations, regardless of size, industry sector, geographical location, or political persuasion.

This means that standards can provide consistent benchmarks, better practices, and common methodologies that all organizations can leverage and adopt.

• BS ISO 37001:2025 Anti-bribery management systems – Requirements with guidance for use is an international standard produced to help organizations prevent, detect, and tackle bribery. It also covers compliance with anti-bribery legislation and what organizations can do voluntarily to protect themselves, via the use of management systems. It has been well received around the globe, by large companies and countries alike, for its value in the fight against bribery and corruption.

• BS ISO 37000:2021 Governance of organizations. Guidance gives guidance for the governance of organizations, supplying principles, key aspects of practices, and a framework to guide governing bodies and governing groups on how to meet their responsibilities so that organizations can fulfill their purpose. Governance helps organizations achieve their purpose in an effective and responsible way and meet rising societal expectations around accountability, fairness, and ethics. BS ISO 37000:2021 supplies authoritative and comprehensive guidance on what governance is and how to do it well.

• BS ISO 37002:2021 Whistleblowing management systems. Guidelines provides a framework for establishing a clear and robust whistleblowing system within an organization. It is the first international standard on this topic. Whistleblowing is an important issue for all types and sizes of organizations, globally. Creating a protective environment where people can confidently report concerns is crucial to the effective prevention of and dealing with wrongdoing.

• BS ISO 37301:2021 Compliance management systems. Requirements with guidance for use specifies requirements and provide guidelines for establishing, developing, implementing, evaluating, maintaining, and improving an effective compliance management system within an organization. When compliance is well managed, it helps organizations to detect and prevent breaches, thus reducing their risk of fines and lawsuits.

Taken all together, these standards can be used to provide a more integrated approach to the global fight against corruption.

The BS ISO 37000 series and over 100,000 more internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. In your trust-critical industry, our subscription service puts the control in your hands, with traceability to monitor and demonstrate your business's compliance to standards, and self-serve functionality that enables you to manage your subscriptions, standards, users, and content quickly and simply. Request to learn more.

Ensure your organization is doing everything it can to combat corruption and unfair practices, by adding these key standards to your organization today.