Standardization, integration of management systems, cooperative principles and sustainability of tourist companies

The international standard ISO 9000 defines management as “coordinated activities to direct and control an organization”. Management systems have increased over time. Firstly, three of them were integrated: quality, environmentand prevention of occupational hazards. Over time, due to the work of the ISO Technical Committees, new management systems appeared: compliance (ISO 19600), services (ISO 20000-1), food safety (ISO 22000), business continuity (ISO 22301), information security (ISO 27001), risks (ISO 31000), against bribery (ISO 37001), occupational health and safety (ISO 45001), energy (ISO 50001), etc. Management systems have emerged even at a national level, such as the management system of R&D activities (UNE 166002) or the surveillance and intelligence system (UNE 166006). Until 2012, international management system standards were developed ensuring their compatibility with the pioneers, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. They had common points, but not the same structure, hindering their integration, so that the use of more than one management system was a problem for the company. This problem was largely corrected by introducing the high-level structure, the “Annex SL of the ISO/IEC directives”. At this point, we consider that the application of the inspiring cooperative principles of the ethical behavior standards of the cooperatives, together with the contents of the Social Responsibility Guide (ISO 26000), provide the ideal framework that facilitates the integration of the different systems of management applicable to tourism businesses contributing to its sustainability.\n