From paperwork to personal information, to hard drives and textiles, BS EN 15713 outlines the necessities to ensure the secure destruction of sensitive and confidential material, in all of its formats. This standard covers all access to the material throughout the whole chain of custody from, collection, transportation, destruction methods, disposal and necessary certification.

The standard is for information destruction service providers, data controllers of businesses and organisations, security or information security officers, and trade or industry associations. It covers recommendations, requirements and otherwise necessary information to control the physical destruction of sensitive or confidential material.

With updates since 2009, BS EN 15713:2023 has been expanded to include more stringent controls across the whole collection process, with a reclassification of security levels and outputs.

Why is BS EN 15713 important for businesses?

Using a provider that adheres to BS EN 15713:2023 can help businesses safeguard information by ensuring that the outsourced provider has all the necessary and required controls in place to deal with clients level of confidential information. It reduces the risk of identity theft, corporate espionage, data breaches and information leakage – all while reassuring users that objects and data carriers are destroyed securely.

Furthermore, the standard provides clear requirements for offering a professional destruction service, meaning businesses can entrust BS EN 15713-compliant providers with secure destruction of their information. The standard also complies with metrics such as GDPR standards, making it robust.

What’s new about BS EN 15713? 

Confidential data is important, particularly keeping it secure during the destruction process.  Since 2009, the nature of sensitive items has changed; particularly with the end of life, meaning BS EN 15713 has been revised to comply in a more modern world.  It has increased the levels of control required and been more prescriptive with access to material during the process and also on the outputs that are acceptable. 

The new standard consolidates the current data protection requirements and provides an aligned standard across all of Europe - rather than a single state standard - with the practices of information destruction providers within the EU. 

The BSIA has been heavily involved in the recent revisions of BS EN 15713, which raises the bar in the security and integrity of services provided by suppliers. All of our ID section members comply with BS EN 15713. If you want to find out more, get in touch!