Climate change, economic crises, and consumer trends are just some of the pitfalls that can dramatically affect the way an organization does business and survives. Organizational resilience is a company’s ability to absorb and adapt to that unpredictability while continuing to deliver on the objectives it is there to achieve.

A new standard, ISO 22316, Security, and Resilience – Organizational resilience – Principles and attributes, provides a framework to help organizations future-proof their business, detailing key principles, attributes and activities that have been agreed on by experts from all around the world.

James Crask, Convenor of ISO/TC 292’s working group WG 2, the group of experts that developed the standard, says improving the resilience of organizations ensures they are not only better placed for anticipating and responding to potential risks, but can harness opportunities as well.

“The standard takes a wide view of the things that can drive resilience in an organization; many of these are behavioral and have historically been overlooked. This is why one of the key principles of the standard is to help them develop a culture that supports resilience.

“It also involves building upon existing forms of risk management, having shared values and an awareness of changing contexts, all the while underpinned by strong and empowered leadership.”

ISO 22316 was developed by working group WG 2, Continuity and organizational resilience, of technical committee ISO/TC 292, Security and Resilience, whose secretariat is held by SIS, the ISO member for Sweden. It is now available from your national ISO member or through the ISO Store.