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Retail & tourism

Retail and tourism standards support organizations to grow and achieve their objectives. Escalating population growth, the globalization of supply chains, economic pressures and increasingly digital and conscious consumer spending habits are creating complicated pressures on the global retail and tourism sector. BSI offers a wide range of retail and tourism standards to ensure that both the software and the processes employed by businesses improve customer experience and assist working practices.

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Tackling ethical sourcing to serve the needs of retail consumers
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Tackling ethical sourcing to serve the needs of retail consumers

In today's retail landscape, sustainable sourcing is no longer just a 'nice to have' – it's becoming essential for business success.  According to McKinsey, products making ESG-related claims averaged 28% cumulative growth over the past five years. This compares to just 20% for those that didn't. This trend is particularly pronounced among younger consumers. Recent research shows that 73% of Gen-Zers aim to purchase from companies they consider ethical. 90% believe that companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues. The retail sector's role in the global drive to net zero Progress in the retail sector is crucial for global emissions reduction. The fashion industry alone is estimated to produce around 10% of annual global carbon emissions. This is more than maritime shipping and international flights combined. Consumers are increasingly pushing for action. Our latest Net Zero Barometer report revealed that 25% of retailers cite consumer pressure as their main driver towards sustainability. Yet despite this demand, 18% of retail brands still haven't taken action to achieve net zero. Furthermore, 39% haven't made progress in improving sustainability across the supply chain. As Todd Redwood, BSI's Global Managing Director – Consumer, Retail and Food, notes: “There are enormous issues across the supply chain for retail businesses. Are they using responsible sourcing, are they using less water, are they encouraging their consumers towards a lower carbon lifestyle? Where mining businesses are more business to-business centred, retail businesses are very consumer focused and are often working within tight margins.” Tackling retail emissions starts with procurement For retailers, the supply chain can account for up to 98% of total emissions. This means that any serious reduction must start with procurement. There is growing pressure to build an even clearer picture of emissions, and to prioritize suppliers with strong sustainability credentials. However, 33% of retailers cited difficulty in finding suppliers with net zero credentials as the biggest obstacle to emissions reduction. Yet, for those that get it right, there are clear benefits. The connection between social responsibility and supply chain management can have a direct effect on financial performance. Structured properly, a fair and up-to-date supply chain policy creates a win-win situation for both buyer and supplier. The role of standards in delivering ethical sourcing With lengthy global supply chains, it can be a challenge to unpick complexity and make meaningful change towards ethical sourcing. Standards can provide blueprints for excellence and robust strategies for minimizing risk, ensuring safety and championing sustainability. As Redwood says: “Without globally agreed standards on what good looks like, there's a challenge for retailers in identifying the source of every element of the products they sell.” Useful standards for tackling these challenges include: BS ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement this standard is designed to you’re your organization to practice sustainable procurement across the supply chain. It's particularly useful for industries such as construction, facilities management, hospitality, catering, clothing, food, manufacturing, and packaging. BS ISO 22095:2020 Chain of custody provides unambiguous definitions of the different chain of custody models and corresponding requirements for companies operating at any step in a supply chain. BS ISO 44004 Collaborative Business Relationship Management this international standard promotes progressive collaboration between large corporations and small businesses. It can play an important role in developing the collaboration and transparency necessary for ethical sourcing. BS 25700 Organizational responses to modern slavery provides guidance for managing the risk of modern slavery, including prevention, identification, response, remediation, mitigation, and reporting modern slavery in operations, supply chains, and the wider operating environment. A free standard. PD ISO/TS 17033:2019 Ethical claims and supporting information facilitates the communication of accurate, credible, and verifiable information about the ethical aspects of your product, process, service, or organization. BS EN ISO 26000:2020 Guidance on social responsibility provides a framework for your organization to build a robust and long-term corporate responsibility strategy. BS ISO 14068-1:2023 is a new international standard setting out strong principles and detailed and verifiable requirements on quantification and reduction or removal of GHG emissions. You’ll gain clear, best practice guidance that will allow them to make verifiable claims of carbon or climate neutrality. Note: There will be a period of 24 months from the date of publication of ISO 14068-1:2023 before the PAS 2060:2014 document, which it supersedes, will be withdrawn. This allows users to address changes that may be needed to meet the revised requirements detailed in the new BS ISO 14068-1:2023 standard. With consumers now expecting retailers to make genuine progress on environmental and social issues, inaction is no longer an option. Ethical sourcing is one of the most effective ways to meet these expectations and gain ground in an environmentally conscious market. While sprawling supply chains can make progress seem impossible, standards can foster the transparency, collaboration and shared best practice required for success. Discover BSI Knowledge Over 100,000 internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. Our tailored subscription service allows you to build your own custom collection of standards or opt for access to one of our pre-built modules, keeping you up to date with any changes. With support from a dedicated BSI account manager, our subscription service helps you achieve a more coherent and effective approach to best practice. Learn more here.Read more
How AI is driving down emissions across retail supply chains
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How AI is driving down emissions across retail supply chains

The retail sector currently accounts for 25% of global emissions, more than almost any sector other than energy. With many young consumers prioritizing ethical spending, emissions reduction is not just important for the planet, but for business longevity. Up to 98% of sector emissions currently occur outside of retailers’ direct control as part of ‘scope 3’ emissions. However, many retailers are still struggling to make serious headway cutting emissions across the supply chain. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning offer a route to better understand, control, and optimize those supply chains. But where to start? What are the challenges, and how can standards help to apply AI safely, transparently and effectively? And, ultimately, how can this help to reduce emissions? The emissions challenge facing retail Every year since 2021, we’ve surveyed UK business leaders about their understanding of, and efforts towards, net zero targets. In the latest edition of our Net Zero Barometer report, we found that 82% of retailers are already taking concerted action to reduce emissions. Retail supply chains offer significant potential for emissions reduction. Yet, 39% of those we surveyed still haven’t made any progress on this front. 33% identify the difficulty of finding suppliers with net zero credentials as the main barrier to cutting emissions in their supply chain. So how can AI help to reduce emissions, build trust, and increase transparency across the supply chain? The role of AI in supply chain emissions reduction AI is unique in its ability to collect, integrate and interpret data. It offers major potential for unpicking the notoriously complex, interconnected and global nature of modern retail supply chains. Prior to the advent of AI, there was no way for retailers to cost-effectively harness the vast quantities of data they were producing. Today, AI technology can be unleashed on big datasets to find efficiencies and drive down emissions. Here are just some of the ways the technology can crunch the numbers for sustainability gains:  1. Greater traceability and transparency Given the fragmented nature of the modern supply chain, mapping the activity of suppliers can be immensely challenging. Yet it’s essential for measuring and driving down Scope 3 emissions. Gathering and analyzing early-stage supply chain data (for example, the origin of cotton for a clothing manufacturer) has historically been almost impossible. Today, AI systems can help tie together and interrogate disparate data sources and identify practices or vendors with poor sustainability credentials. AI start-up, Altana, is currently working with US Customs and Border Protection and Maersk to map supply chains and uncover issues like forced labor. 2. Reduced energy usage AI technology can also help retailers uncover ways to slash energy usage. In a 21 month AI trial, Tesco was able to eliminate 835 tonnes of CO2 emissions associated with refrigeration. Data analyzed by AI allowed the Tesco maintenance team to find an improved balance between operational efficiency and energy consumption. Under the trial, refrigeration temperatures were increased by 1°C. While this might have seemed counter-intuitive, it resulted in major savings without impacting food waste. 3. Demand forecasting and reduced waste The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that food waste contributes up to 10% of total man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. AI also offers the potential to substantially reduce this waste through improved demand forecasting. AI makes it easier to combine and analyze huge data sets on everything from historical sales data, seasonal patterns and real-time consumer behavior. The insight gleamed from this can help can reduce the risk of overstocking and cut down on waste.  AI can also make it simpler to share demand forecasts across the supply chain and build collaborative supply chain management. Retailers can provide suppliers with automated and continuously available real-time data on inventories and stock levels at different locations. AI can also help retailers monitor supplier performance and automatically prioritize greener options when restocking. 4. More efficient, greener logistics Logistics, freight and warehousing currently accounts for around 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. AI can enable retailers to better optimize logistics and transport operations and reduce emissions. Alongside combining vast historical data sets on things like traffic patterns, weather conditions and fuel efficiency, it is possible to process data and react in real-time. Walmart claims to have already used AI-powered smart routing technology to eliminate 30 million unnecessary miles driven. AI is even being used to load trucks more efficiently, factoring in routing so products are packed in sequence, increasing efficiency and reducing emissions. The role of standards Standards can help organizations maintain and develop the comprehensive, trustworthy and secure data that AI technologies rely on. They can also help foster the collaboration across the supply chain that’s essential for improved data availability and transparency. Here are just some of the standards that can help organizations build trustworthiness and facilitate the safe and secure adoption of AI technologies. PD ISO/IEC TR 24028:2020 Information Technology. Artificial Intelligence. Overview of trustworthiness in artificial intelligence: This is an international standard on artificial Intelligence (AI). It surveys topics related to trustworthiness in AI systems, including approaches to establish trust. BS ISO/IEC 42001:2023 Information technology. Artificial intelligence. Management system: This standard provides a certifiable AI management system framework within which AI products can be developed as part of an AI assurance ecosystem. PD ISO/IEC TR 24368:2022 Information technology. Artificial intelligence. Overview of ethical and societal concerns: This standard provides a high-level overview of the ethical and societal concerns in relation to AI, alongside related principles, processes, and methods.  PD ISO/IEC TR 27563:2023. Security and privacy in artificial intelligence use cases. Best practices: This standard outlines best practices on assessing security and privacy in artificial intelligence use cases.   AI and existing standards Whilst, in many cases, existing sustainability standards might not detail AI explicitly, the application of AI technologies can significantly enhance the ability to apply standards. This might include better monitoring, data analysis, support for decision-making, and otherwise enhance the ability to adhere to the guidelines and principles of the standard. Some of the standards relevant to supply chains in this regard might include: BS EN ISO 14067:2018 Greenhouse gases — Carbon footprint of products — Requirements and guidelines for quantification BS EN ISO 26000 Guidance on social responsibility BS ISO 20400:2017 Sustainable procurement. Guidance AI in tandem with standards Improved supply chain management offers the most fertile ground for retail emissions reduction. But it is also one of the most complicated areas to get right. AI technology, used in tandem with standards, can help retailers make sense of the complexity and make genuine progress on emissions reduction. Discover BSI Knowledge Over 100,000 internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. Our tailored subscription service allows you to build your own custom collection of standards or opt for access to one of our pre-built modules, keeping you up to date with any changes. With support from a dedicated BSI account manager, our subscription service helps you achieve a more coherent and effective approach to best practice. Request to learn more.
Fighting modern slavery with BS 25700
Article

Fighting modern slavery with BS 25700

Modern slavery can affect any business, in any sector and across supply chains. It is now time for every organization to effectively manage the risk of modern slavery. And our pioneering new standard can help. Modern slavery includes recruitment, transport, receipt and harbouring of people to exploit their labour, and it affects almost all parts of the world. Globally, it’s estimated that there are over 40 million men, women and children in situations of modern slavery. These victims are forced to work for little or no pay, deprived of their freedom and often subjected to unimaginable suffering. And both the COVID-19 crisis and recent war in Europe have only exacerbated the issue – leaving thousands of people at risk from these practices. Any association with modern slavery has the potential to damage an organization’s reputation in a serious and potentially permanent way. It creates the image of an untrustworthy business that puts profits before the welfare of its workers and other stakeholders. Companies may also face backlash from consumers if they are found to be implicated. Far more must be done to bridge the gap between policy and practice. BSI is at the forefront of helping organizations understand what actions they can take to eradicate this global problem. As the National Standards Body (NSB) in the UK, BSI plays a vital role in helping businesses to adopt best practices and align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. BS 25700 Organizational responses to modern slavery is a pioneering British standard that provides guidance on managing the risk of modern slavery, through prevention, identification, response, remediation, mitigation, and reporting modern slavery in operations and supply chains. It provides organizations with guidance for managing the risk of modern slavery, including prevention, identification, response, remediation, mitigation, and reporting modern slavery in its operations, supply chains and its wider operating environment. We support campaigners, like Baroness Young and others, as they call for Governments to re-prioritize modern slavery. To support this important topic, where we all need to play a role to enable positive change, BSI is pleased to make our BS 25700 standard free to download. Slavery in the supply chain To manage the risk of modern slavery, businesses must first recognize that it is a current and prevalent problem, often hidden in plain sight. Slavery can exist in all stages of the supply chain, including the procurement manufacture shipping and delivery of goods and services to consumers. This is because long and complex supply chains, often seen in the food, retail and manufacturing sectors, make it difficult to oversee who is working where and under what conditions. Companies have a legal and social responsibility to ensure that modern slavery has not been used in the production of the goods they sell. For example, the UK Modern Slavery Act requires larger businesses to report on the steps they take to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains. BS EN ISO 26000 is the British Standard giving organizations guidance on social responsibility. Learn more about this standard here. How to manage the risk of modern slavery Further work is needed by organizations to effectively manage the risk of modern slavery especially in their supply chains. The growing scrutiny of supply chains regarding social responsibility, organizational impact and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) reporting means that it has never been more important for your business to manage the risk of modern slavery. BS 25700 provides a structured approach to the development, implementation, evaluation, and review of the risk management of modern slavery by taking a ‘risk to people’ view instead of a ‘risk to organization’ view. It encourages organizations to go beyond legal and statutory duties and address the wider risks associated with modern slavery. The benefits of BS 25700 to businesses include: A holistic approach to addressing modern slavery that puts people at the heart of an organization Effective management of the risk of modern slavery in a way that supports human rights due diligence Demonstration of organizational commitment to ESG which helps build confidence in your organization’s governance and ethics Positive business reputation Increased sales and customer loyalty, as consumers seek businesses with higher ethical standards Greater ability to attract talent and staff retention Improved investor confidence More responsive and stable supply chains This standard is applicable to all organizations, regardless of size and sector because organizations of all types and sizes can be responsible for modern slavery practices in their supply and value chains. BSI is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This standard contributes to a number of SDGs but in particular supports SDG 8.7: End Modern Slavery, Trafficking and Child Labour. Help us a build a better world by managing the risk of modern slavery in your supply chain. Download your copy of BS 25700 today.
The BS ISO 59000 series: How to implement the circular economy into your organization
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The BS ISO 59000 series: How to implement the circular economy into your organization

In today's world, where sustainability and resource efficiency are paramount, the concept of a circular economy (CE) has emerged as a transformative solution. The newly published BS ISO 59000 family of standards is designed to facilitate this transition by harmonizing the understanding and implementation of the circular economy.  The circular economy for organizations is a systemic approach to economic development designed to benefit businesses, society, and the environment.  Unlike the traditional linear economy, which follows a 'take, make, dispose' model, the circular economy aims to keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them while in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of their service life.  For organizations, this means rethinking and redesigning business models, products, processes, and services to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency.  This is where standards come in. Aimed at organizations across all sectors—government, industry, and non-profit—the BS ISO 59000 series of standards supports the transition and builds upon the guidance of BS 8001 Framework for implementing the principles of the circular economy in organizations. Guide. Understanding the circular economy framework The BS ISO 59000 series aims to standardize the principles, implementation, and measurement of the circular economy. These standards are designed to be universally applicable, assisting organizations in contributing to the United Nations (UN) Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.  The series includes several standards, with BS ISO 59004, BS ISO 59010, and BS ISO 59020 being published recently. BS ISO 59004: Principles and vision of the circular economy Scope: defines CE, its vision, principles, and general implementation guidance. Purpose: helps organizations understand and commit to CE, contributing to sustainable development. Application: applicable to any organization, regardless of size, type, or sector, globally. BS ISO 59010: Transitioning to circular business model Scope: provides business-oriented guidance for transitioning to circular business models and value networks. Purpose: offers a structured methodology for integrating circularity into business strategies. Application: focuses on business strategies at organizational and inter-organizational levels. BS ISO 59020: Measuring and assessing circularity performance Scope: offers a framework for measuring and assessing circularity performance using standard indicators. Purpose: assists organizations in monitoring their circularity performance and sustainability impacts. Application: applicable at various scales, from regional to product levels, and across all sectors. Why implement the BS ISO 59000 standards? The BS ISO 59000 series of standards offers a robust framework for organizations to transition to a circular economy. By adopting these standards, organizations can reap numerous benefits that span environmental, economic, and social dimensions. Global consistency and comparability The BS ISO 59000 series provides an internationally standardized approach to CE, ensuring consistent implementation across the globe. This harmonization facilitates comparability and benchmarking, enabling organizations to measure their performance against international standards. Comprehensive frameworks Each standard within the BS ISO 59000 series addresses different aspects of the circular economy. BS ISO 59004 sets the foundational principles, BS ISO 59010 provides business-oriented guidance, and BS ISO 59020 offers tools for measurement and assessment. Together, they create a comprehensive framework that covers the entire transition process. Adaptability across sectors The standards are designed to be non-sector-specific, making them adaptable to any industry. Whether in manufacturing, services, government, or non-profit sectors, organizations can tailor these standards to their specific needs, ensuring broad applicability and relevance. Support for sustainable development By adopting these standards, organizations can align their operations with the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. The BS ISO 59000 series not only promotes resource efficiency and waste reduction but also supports broader sustainability goals, including social and economic development. Enhanced business performance Transitioning to a circular economy can lead to significant business benefits, including cost savings from resource efficiency, new revenue streams from circular business models, and improved resilience against resource scarcity. The structured approach provided by BS ISO 59010 helps businesses strategically plan and implement these changes. Want to learn more? Discover how standards are supporting sustainability initiatives and the transition to net zero by visiting our Net Zero Topic Page. Solving industry circular economy challenges The BS ISO 59000 series addresses several critical challenges faced by organizations in transitioning to a circular economy: Unified definitions and principles: provides a common language and understanding of CE, which is essential for collaboration and implementation across different sectors and regions. Implementation framework: offers practical guidance on transitioning to circular business models, helping organizations move from theory to action. Measurement and assessment: establishes standardized methods for measuring circularity performance, enabling organizations to track progress and identify areas for improvement. By adopting these standards, organizations can accelerate their transition to a circular economy, minimize resource use, and optimize the circular flow of resources, thereby contributing to sustainable development on a global scale.

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