In February 2024, the International Organization for Standardization published amendments to several management system standards, including:

 ISO 9001:2015/Amd 1:2024 Quality management systems — Requirements — Amendment 1: Climate action changes

ISO 14001:2015/Amd 1:2024 Environmental management systems — Requirements with guidance for use — Amendment 1: Climate action changes

ISO 45001:2018/Amd 1:2024 Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use — Amendment 1: Climate action changes

 ISO 22000:2018/Amd 1:2024 Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization in the food chain — Amendment 1: Climate action changes

ISO/IEC 27001:2022/Amd 1:2024 Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection — Information security management systems — Requirements — Amendment 1: Climate action changes

On 22 February 2024, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and ISO issued a joint communiqué highlighting climate policy changes incorporated into ISO management system standards.

Joint IAF–ISO communiqué on climate change aspects https://iaf.nu/en/news/iaf-and-iso-publish-joint-communique/

The amendments introduce two new statements to many existing and future management system standards. The purpose is to ensure that climate change is considered as a factor that may influence an organization’s ability to achieve its management system objectives and expected results.

The IAF Technical Committee issued an official decision clarifying the application of the amendments for accreditation bodies, certification bodies and certified organizations.

Decision summary:

IAF Final Decision After 30-Day Consultation on Climate Change Amendments in Management System Standards

Introduction

The IAF and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published a joint communiqué highlighting amendments to certain management system standards, emphasizing the importance of climate change in the context of organizational management systems.

This communiqué responds to the 2023 Montreal document prepared by the IAF Technical Committee. The purpose is to communicate expectations related to management systems to certified organizations, certification bodies and accreditation bodies, with particular attention to the statements in the joint communiqué.

The general requirements of clauses 4.1 and 4.2 remain unchanged. These clauses already require organizations to consider all internal and external factors that may affect the effectiveness of their management system.

Atsižvelgiant į tai, kad bendrieji reikalavimai nepakito, kad šis keitinys laikomas paaiškinimu, o ne nauju reikalavimu, rengti pereinamojo laikotarpio programos nereikia, tačiau reikėtų atsižvelgti į toliau pateiktas gaires.

Expectations from certified organizations

When developing, maintaining and improving their management systems, certified organizations must consider climate change-related risks.

Climate change should be analysed together with other risk factors and classified as significant or non-significant depending on the scope of the management system standard. Where an organization operates more than one management system (for example, quality management, occupational health and safety management), it should ensure that, if climate change is determined to be significant, it is integrated into the scope of each relevant management system standard.

It should be noted that some climate change aspects and risks may be general in nature and independent of the management system scope or industry sector (for example, when related to legal regulation, operational applicability or organizational sustainability). Other climate-related aspects should be assessed according to the requirements of management system standards applicable to specific industries (for example, energy production, agriculture or fisheries) and organizational characteristics such as geographic location, supply chain structure or workforce dynamics.

Expectations for certification bodies

Certification bodies must maintain evidence that their certified organizations have evaluated the significance of all internal and external factors and have taken significant factors into account when developing management systems and ensuring their effectiveness, as required by clauses 4.1 and 4.2.

After the introduction of the new climate change amendments, certification bodies must ensure that the climate change aspect has been considered. Where climate change is determined to be significant for the organization’s management system, it must be incorporated into organizational objectives and climate change mitigation activities as required. If an organization considers climate change not to be a relevant aspect of its management system, the certification body should ensure the effectiveness of the organization’s process for identifying and implementing necessary actions, where applicable.

Expectations for accreditation bodies

Before starting an accreditation cycle, the accreditation body may require certification bodies to provide evidence that their certified clients have evaluated climate change aspects together with other aspects specified in clauses 4.1 and 4.2.

 Transition and implementation

The publication of the standard amendments is expected on 23 February 2024. As noted earlier, organizations are already considering climate-related issues that may affect their management system(s)

Therefore, after publication, certification bodies should include new text related to organizational context in their audit questionnaires. As in normal practice, if a certified organization cannot demonstrate that all internal and external aspects classified as significant have been considered (including climate change), an appropriate audit conclusion should be made.

Certification bodies should ensure that climate change aspects are considered and, where determined to be significant for the management system, they are integrated into organizational objectives and environmental impact mitigation activities. If an organization determines that climate change is not a significant aspect of its management system, the certification body should require justification for such a decision.

ISO will implement amendments to management system standards, but issued certificates will not need to be reissued because:

The publication year of management system standards will not change;
The scope of management system standards will not change;
There is no significant impact on the effectiveness of certified management systems;
The methods and actions taken by certified organizations to meet the new requirement will be similar to those applied when addressing other issues within the management system scope.

All Technical Committee decisions are available in the IAF TC searchable decision log.

Information is provided according to the document of the National Accreditation Bureau