The British Standards Institution has launched a new international standard business continuity management, ISO 22301. The new standard has evolved from the internationally recognised British Standard BS 25999 – which outlines an approach to implement precautionary measures against issues such as strikes, mass supply chain disruption, political unrest and customer loss.

Preparing a business continuity and survival strategy heads the list of tips from BSI’s international panel of experts to beat the threats. Managing organisational balance sheets and conducting full risk assessments are also recommended with a view to ensuring businesses don’t just look at internal processes but also the management of its key suppliers.

BSI has also urged businesses to follow international good practice and adopt a systematic approach to testing and exercising business continuity management plans with senior management buy in. “Not enough of today’s organisations exercise their business continuity. It doesn’t matter what size business you run, if you don’t exercise your plans you put your business and its employees at risk,” says Howard Kerr, chief executive at BSI. “Our clients who have adopted an holistic approach to business continuity management reported an 82% improvement in their speed of recovery from incidents and disruptions.”

BSI recently sponsored the renowned Chartered Management Institute’s report, Planning for the Worst which shows clear advantages for organisations that have business continuity plans in place to deal with incidents and crises when they hit. Of those who had to activate plans in 2011, 82% said business continuity management enabled their organisation to return to normal operations more quickly than otherwise would have been possible, while 81% agreed it reduced disruption.

The report also identifies corporate governance as the biggest external driver for business continuity management. As well as providing assurance that an organisation will be able to continue its daily operations, implementation of such standards will also help businesses to address the more strategic aspects of business continuity management such as the potential threats to their supply chains.

Rick Cudworth, chair of the BSI technical committee for business continuity, believe this new business continuity standard is a significant step forward. "It will simplify the task of planning for the unexpected and empower organisations to react on the front foot when difficulties arise. With the standard being accepted internationally, it will allow for a joined up approach across the globe," he said.

“The success and sustainability of a business is highly dependent on the prevention plans that are embedded within the organisation. These not only define the organisation’s ability to serve customers in the event of disruption, but also demonstrate a duty of care to its staff no matter what happens.”

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