ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 for Packaging Recyclability
OPRL provides expert support and tools to help businesses navigate the complexities of recyclability of packaging. They are a membership based non-profit organisation, providing their members with a voice in industry conversations as well as ensuring that their packaging and labelling decisions are made with the latest knowledge and insight. As a fellow B Corp, we are pleased to have supported their vision of ‘a world where packaging doesn’t go to waste’.
Although we had no prior involvement with OPRL, our reputation carried through from a successful collaboration between our respective MDs on another project, that time in the medical devices sector, some years ago. A combination of serendipity and timing led to Q! parachuting into action on the eve of a Stage 1 ISO assessment, filling an unexpected consultancy vacancy. Normally it’s our clients who are the rabbits in the headlights at Stage 1. On this occasion were right there with them.
1/2
Mentoring
1/2
Auditing
QFactorial Service offering
Implementation
It was immediately obvious that this was going to be more of a steering and verifying project, not a fresh start or a rescue scenario. The OPRL team had already done a huge amount of work and there was clearly enough knowledge and enthusiasm to get them through. Stage 1 was easier than any of us expected, even the tricky parts of ISO 27001, so we had the all-clear to pursue a rigorous gap closure plan towards an ambitious Stage 2 target.
Qfactorial’s role was split 50/50 between mentoring and auditing to get the project over the line. One of the key pieces of work involved getting the right balance of controls in place to demonstrate information security in a scenario with fully outsourced IT provision. By facilitating conversations with key suppliers, developing practical service level agreements, and rigorous application of the Statement of Applicability (SoA), a sensible balance was achieved.
We were in the room for the Stage 2 audit and overjoyed to share in a successful outcome.
There is no substitute for people who know what they are doing and why. Through numerous conversations, both in audits and ‘at the water cooler’ it became obvious that the team were already doing most of the right things for the right reasons, just not sure how to prove it. Yes, we had to find and fix some documentation, but what really won the day was the way each auditee was able to confidently show and tell how the processes worked.
Four months from first contact on 21st January, into Stage 1 assessment the next day, then Stage 2 and a recommendation for certification on 21st May. A great result, a happy client and a few laughs along the way.
I knew I needed someone who could work with me on creating a business transformational management system, I didn’t want to just tick some boxes to pass an audit I wanted to set the business up for change and in the process of doing that achieve certification because we were actually doing it.
So when it came to needing to get someone in to help us achieve all of that I knew exactly who to call in, having worked with Q! previously in a different company at a very different time I knew what they could do for me and they absolutely delivered.
I’m really proud of what we’ve all achieved as a team, but I’m also excited about what we’ll carry on to deliver together as we really embed and socialise the way of working into the bones of the business.
