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The 2024 Climate Action Amendments to ISO Management System Standards represent a significant effort by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) to integrate climate considerations into a wide range of management standards. These amendments were introduced in support of the ISO London Declaration on Climate Change and aim to ensure that organisations incorporate climate change considerations into their management systems, enhancing their effectiveness in achieving intended outcomes.
The amendments have been applied to several standards, affecting clauses related to understanding the organisation and its context (Clause 4.1) and understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties (Clause 4.2). Specifically, organisations are now required to determine whether climate change is a relevant issue and acknowledge that interested parties can have requirements related to climate change.
The standards undergoing these amendments include, but are not limited to:
– ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems
– ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Information Security, Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection
– ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management Systems
– ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems
– ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems
– ISO 22000:2018 Food Safety Management Systems
These changes underscore ISO’s commitment to making climate change considerations an integral part of management systems across various operational areas. Organisations are encouraged to assess climate-related risks and integrate them into their strategic objectives and risk mitigation efforts, thus enhancing organisational resilience and adaptability to climate-related risks.
For organisations holding accredited certifications, there is no need for a new certificate or transition to a new standard version. Instead, the focus is on enhancing the scope and effectiveness of existing certifications to encompass climate change considerations. This approach recognises the varying relevance and impact of climate change across different industries, scopes, and geographical locations, allowing businesses to tailor their management systems to address these challenges effectively.
Intertek SAI Global’s role in ensuring compliance with these amendments, verifying that organisations have appropriately considered climate change as a relevant issue within their management systems. This includes integrating climate change considerations into objectives, mitigation activities, and evaluating the process used by organisations to determine the relevance of climate change to their operations.
These amendments represent a significant milestone in the journey towards sustainable business practices, reflecting a collective commitment to enhancing climate resilience and contributing to global sustainability efforts.