Implementation walkthrough
How to implement ISO 44001: video walkthrough
A walkthrough of implementing ISO 44001 for collaborative relationships, from joint ventures and alliances to key customers and supply chains.
Key takeaways
- ISO 44001 manages collaborative business relationships.
- A partner can be another organisation or an internal group.
- Eight stages run from operational awareness to exit strategy activation.
- Each relationship is governed through a relationship management plan.
- The system must be used on real relationships before certification.
Managing relationships in which you depend on others
ISO 44001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for a collaborative business relationship management system. Organisations use it to identify, develop and manage the relationships in which they depend on others to deliver, from joint ventures, alliances and consortia to business customers and supply chains. It applies to public and private organisations of every size, and a partner can be another organisation or an internal group within the same one.
The heart of the standard is a life cycle of eight stages that takes a relationship from the first decision to collaborate to a managed ending. This short film walks through how the system is put in place.
It can be applied to a single project, programme or acquisition, to one relationship, to a consortium of identified partners or across the whole organisation.
Used on real relationships before certification
Choose the level and scope of the certificate: one project, one relationship, a group of relationships or the whole organisation, along with the sites, headcount and what clients require. A gap analysis then compares current practice with the standard.
Implementation sets the policy and governance for collaboration, then applies the eight-stage life cycle to the relationships in scope: from operational awareness and knowledge through partner selection and joint working to value creation, staying together and, finally, exit strategy activation. Each relationship is governed through a relationship management plan, which sets out how it is managed and controlled, and the first joint plan is built with a partner. Because certification comes after the system has been used on real relationships, never before, the plan is put to work before internal audit and management review. An independent certification body then audits and decides; accreditation for ISO 44001 exists in some countries but not all.
Sterling's expert and experienced consultants support the policy, governance and first joint plan with your team under Sterling OS™, run in Effivity. Work is built to ISO 44001:2017 and its 2024 amendment while a second edition is drafted.
ISO 44001 at a glance
- Purpose
- Identifying, developing and managing collaborative business relationships within or between organisations, so that working together realises more value
- Relevant to
- Public and private organisations of every size, for one project or relationship, a group of partners or every relationship they hold
- Edition
- ISO 44001:2017 with Amendment 1:2024; a second edition is at draft stage, with no publication date announced
- Certification
- Audited and decided by an independent certification body; accreditation for ISO 44001 exists in some countries, including the United Kingdom, but not all
- Sterling's role
- Policy, governance and the first joint RMP with your team; training, internal audit and certification readiness, run in Effivity; then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for an ISO 44001 collaborative business relationship management system depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 4 to 9 months
ISO 44001: questions people ask
Is ISO 44001 certification mandatory?
No. ISO 44001 is voluntary and becomes a condition only where a client, framework or partner makes it one. Interest is strongest among organisations that commission or deliver major projects, but it is just as useful without external demand wherever results depend on partners.
Can we certify one partnership or programme rather than the whole organisation?
Yes. ISO 44001 can be applied to a single project, programme or acquisition, to one relationship, to several identified relationships such as a consortium, or organisation-wide. The certificate reflects the scope of your system, so define it precisely and check it matches what the client needs.
Do our partners also have to be certified?
Your certificate covers your own system. The standard recognises that collaboration needs two or more organisations and that management systems must accommodate their joint activities, so from partner selection onward your partners take part in the joint RMP, governance, issue resolution and exit strategy. Whether a partner seeks its own certificate is its decision.
What is a relationship management plan, and why are there several?
An RMP sets out the governance processes, or references to them, that define how a relationship is managed and controlled. ISO 44001 calls for a corporate RMP held as documented information, an RMP established during operational awareness and developed through the next stages, and a joint RMP started with the selected partner and maintained together until exit.
Is accredited ISO 44001 certification available?
Yes, in some countries. In the United Kingdom, UKAS accredits certification bodies for ISO 44001 under ISO/IEC 17021-1, and ISO/IEC TS 17021-12 sets the competence requirements for auditing these systems. Accreditation is granted standard by standard: as of September 2026, the national accreditation bodies of the UAE and the Philippines did not list ISO 44001 among their management system schemes. Check that the certification body's accredited scope names ISO 44001, and ask whoever wants the certificate what they will accept.
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