Intro: Two Risk Standards, Two Different Missions

ISO 31030 and ISO 31000 are both built around risk management, but they don’t play the same role.

Think of ISO 31000 as the big-picture strategist: it gives organizations a universal framework for managing all kinds of risk; from financial uncertainty to IT security to supply chain disruptions.

Meanwhile, ISO 31030 is the boots-on-the-ground playbook for a very specific situation: keeping people safe when they travel.

What is ISO 31000?

Published by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 31000 is a high-level risk management framework. It’s designed for any organization, in any industry, looking to create a structured approach to risk across the enterprise.

Key Features:

• Provides principles and a process for managing risk
• Focuses on strategic, operational, and compliance risks
• Applies to all sectors, public or private
• Uses a common language for cross-functional risk communication

Use Cases:

• Managing investment and financial risk
• Operational risk controls in manufacturing
• Cybersecurity governance in IT
• Policy risk in government agencies

In short?
ISO 31000 helps you manage risk at the organizational level.

What is ISO 31030?

ISO 31030 zooms in. It’s a specialized guideline built to help organizations manage travel-related risks, like:

• Political unrest
• Natural disasters
• Health threats (e.g. pandemics, outbreaks)
• Crime and personal safety issues
• Local compliance, customs, and legal issues

Key Features:

• Focuses solely on travel risk management and/or roaming staff
• Offers practical steps for planning, mitigation, response, and review
• Supports corporate duty of care
• Aligns with ISO 31000’s broader principles, but goes much deeper into travel

Real-World Example:
A multinational engineering firm might use ISO 31000 to assess overall project risk, but lean on ISO 31030 to keep their staff safe while working on-site in Nigeria, Colombia, or Indonesia.

ISO 31030 vs ISO 31000: Key Differences

How They Work Together

ISO 31030 doesn’t replace ISO 31000. In fact, they work better as a pair.

ISO 31000 gives you the mindset.
ISO 31030 gives you the method.

If ISO 31000 says, “You should manage risk,”
ISO 31030 says, “Here’s how to keep your travelers safe when they fly to Nairobi.”

For organizations with regular travel – especially to high-risk areas – ISO 31030 acts as a practical, boots-on-the-ground extension of ISO 31000.

Why This Difference Matters for You

Let’s say you’re a safety officer, travel manager, or operations lead. You’ve read your company’s risk policy, and it’s based on ISO 31000. Great.

But… when you ask about specific travel procedures such as pre-trip briefings, traveler tracking, or evacuation plans and then things get murky…

That’s the gap ISO 31030 fills. It tells you:

• What to do before the trip
• How to prepare travelers
• What to do when something goes wrong
• How to evaluate your performance and improve

Final Takeaway

ISO 31000 and ISO 31030 aren’t in competition; they’re in conversation.

If you already have an enterprise risk strategy based on ISO 31000, ISO 31030 helps you operationalize it in a high-stakes, real-world scenario: your people on the move.

And if you don’t have a travel risk strategy at all?
Start with ISO 31030. It’s clear, specific, and actionable.

Want to align your travel safety program with ISO 31030?
Book a call with our risk experts and see how Sitata can help.