On 22 February 2024, ISO and the International Accreditation Forum issued a joint communiqué announcing climate-related amendments across 31 management system standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and ISO/IEC 27001. The amendments were published from 23 February 2024. (iaf.nu)
What changed
Two concise but important additions were made to clauses 4.1 and 4.2 of the harmonized structure used in management system standards. Organisations must now determine whether climate change is a relevant issue in their context, and they must consider that relevant interested parties may have climate-related requirements. The same wording appears in ISO 9001:2015/Amd 1:2024. (iaf.nu)
In practical terms, this does not create a separate “climate management system.” Instead, it means climate-related issues can no longer be overlooked when organisations review their business context and the expectations of customers, regulators, owners, and other relevant stakeholders. (iaf.nu)
What this means for certified organisations
For certified companies in the US, the UK, and other markets, the immediate implication is that climate-related factors now need to be considered within the existing management system wherever they are relevant. That may affect context analysis, risk evaluation, management review, strategic planning, customer requirements, and improvement priorities. ISO and IAF also made clear that the impact of climate change may look very different depending on the standard and the organisation. (iaf.nu)
This does not mean every business must declare climate change to be a major issue. The requirement is to review the topic and reach a reasoned conclusion. If climate change is not relevant to the intended results of the management system, that can be a valid outcome, but it should be considered consciously rather than ignored by default. (ISO)
What will change in audits
Auditors are now expected to evaluate how an organisation has considered climate change within its context and interested-party analysis. For ISO 9001 specifically, auditor guidance states that auditors should assess how the organisation determined whether climate change is relevant to the QMS and its intended results. (ISO)
At the same time, ISO and IAF have emphasized that this amendment is not intended to turn every certification or surveillance audit into a stand-alone climate audit. The topic should be addressed in proportion to the organisation’s activities, risks, and management system scope. (iaf.nu)
Do certificates need to be reissued?
No. Existing certificates remain valid, and organisations do not need to reissue certificates solely because of these amendments. The changes are expected to be addressed through the normal certification, surveillance, and recertification cycle. (iaf.nu)
Why this matters
For business leaders, this is more than a wording change. It signals that ISO expects organisations to take a broader and more realistic view of the environment in which they operate. If climate-related factors affect supply continuity, infrastructure resilience, customer expectations, delivery performance, or operational risk, those issues now need to be visible in the management system. (iaf.nu)
This may be especially relevant for manufacturers, logistics providers, infrastructure-dependent service businesses, and organisations working with large enterprise or public-sector customers that are already asking climate-related questions in supplier approval or compliance processes. (ISO)
What organisations should do now
A practical response would be to:
- review the organisation’s context analysis;
- assess whether climate change is a relevant issue for the business and the management system;
- check whether customers, regulators, owners, insurers, or other interested parties have climate-related expectations;
- update risks, objectives, management review inputs, and process controls where needed;
- be prepared to explain the organisation’s reasoning during an audit. (iaf.nu)
Sources
The main sources for this update are the joint ISO/IAF communiqué on climate-related amendments, the official ISO publication page for ISO 9001:2015/Amd 1:2024, and the ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group guidance on auditing climate-change issues. (iaf.nu)