What Does ISO 9001 Have to Do With Climate Change?
Note the language. This declaration commits ISO to take climate science into account “in the development of all new and revised International Standards.” This means that when the organization issues (or updates) a standard specifying the size and composition of ball bearings, or of the cover glasses on microscopes, it has to consider climate science. That rule applies all the more to ISO 9001.
But ISO is adding climate language to ISO 9001. Let me explain how that came to pass.
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And if the rules we add are light, then some organizations will get cynical. “We get credit for fighting climate change without having to do any work.”
The second proposed addition is just a note. It adds no new requirements, and it can’t be audited. Consider it a reminder that one or more of your interested parties might care about climate change—care enough to have requirements on the subject. And although notes are formally not auditable, I can imagine some auditors wanting to discuss whether you ever asked your interested parties for their views on climate change. So be aware of the topic in any event, and think of how you want that discussion to go.
In the second place, what kinds of climate requirements do we want to see added to ISO 9001? Either they’ll be heavy, or they’ll be light.
To be sure, there have been arguments in the other direction as well. While climate change might affect all organizations, not all organizations can do anything about it. In particular, very small companies with narrow profit margins may have neither the size nor the flexibility to make meaningful changes to their operations in support of climate targets. Because ISO 9001 is supposed to apply to organizations of all sizes and in all industries, it shouldn’t adopt rules that some companies can’t meet.
A second argument says that the design and development of products and services worldwide is sure to affect the climate for good or ill. So why not add requirements to the sections on design and development that nudge us to act in a more helpful direction?
Management
What Does ISO 9001 Have to Do With Climate Change?
The answer might surprise you
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Superficially, ISO 9001 and climate change sound different: ISO 9001 is about how to do things well so your organization satisfies its customers; climate change is about physical and chemical interactions in the atmosphere, and the consequences for our lives in the future.
Published: Tuesday, February 6, 2024 – 12:03
Furthermore, ISO followed up on Sept. 27, 2023, with a further explanation on proposed revisions to the Harmonized Structure (Annex SL, Appendix 2 of the ISO/IEC Directives) that include climate language. Annex SL is a body of text which is incorporated directly into multiple management system standards, including ISO 9001 and many others. So an approved change to Annex SL is automatically a change to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and the rest. The only question then becomes when will a new printing be made available, or an amendment that includes the specific ISO standard number in the header?
The arguments
Advocates have pointed out the relevance of the climate to ISO 9001 in many ways. One argument is that climate change is an important topic worldwide, and ISO 9001 is a standard with global reach. So, even if there is no direct connection, why not use it as a lever to push global activity?
A third argument reminds us that the most recent edition of the standard (ISO 9001:2015) requires each organization to understand its context, including the risks, opportunities, and issues that face it. But climate change affects every organization, and therefore it’s a relevant part of everyone’s context.
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To clause 4.2 (“Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties”), the proposal would add a clarification: Note: Relevant interested parties can have requirements related to climate change.
What would these additions mean?
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That’s true, reply the advocates. But even if you can’t make your operations more climate-friendly, a changing climate will bring new risks that you must mitigate. So the topic remains relevant.
But if they’re heavy, then some organizations will find them too heavy and won’t be able to comply. If the rules are part of ISO 9001, those organizations will drop ISO 9001.
Thinking back to my discussion above, I think these requirements can’t be easily classified either as “heavy” or “light.” In practice it will have to depend on the organization—and that’s how it should be.
Amid all this controversy, it’s only fair for me to explain my own view. My personal opinion is that we would all be better off if ISO 9001 could stay in its lane and avoid discussing the climate.
Another objection is that all requirements in ISO 9001 must be checked by auditors. Today there are no rules requiring quality auditors to understand climate science. But if climate requirements are added to ISO 9001, then ISO will have to issue guidance about auditor competency. Will today’s auditors still qualify, or will they all need emergency retraining? This concern has led some stakeholders to suggest moving all discussion of climate change into ISO 9000, a standard that defines the essential terminology and conceptual structure behind any formal quality management system, but which is not itself auditable.
My view
Neither of these outcomes—the heavy one or the light one—will be good for ISO 9001’s overall brand.
The ISO view
First, some background. In September 2021, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issued its “London Declaration” on climate change. Among other things, this document committed ISO to “foster the active consideration of climate science and associated transitions in the development of all new and revised International Standards and publications.”
One view is that climate change affects every organization, and therefore it’s a relevant part of everyone’s context. Photo by William Bossen on Unsplash
To clause 4.1 (“Understanding the organization and its context”), the proposal would add one requirement: The organization shall determine whether climate change is a relevant issue.
That said, my personal opinion doesn’t rule the day. I mentioned above that there’s a proposal relating to climate language before the ISO Central Secretariat. If it’s approved, then ISO could soon issue an amendment to ISO 9001. That amendment would add two sentences to the standard.
In the first place, as above, customer satisfaction is simply a topic different from climate change. In any complex operation, specialization brings clarity and increases effectiveness. For this reason, I think we can achieve more if we let ISO 9001 focus on customer satisfaction while a different standard focuses on climate action.
The first is a requirement. It means organizations have to do something, and they can be audited. Now, what the organization has to do is simply to make a decision. Strictly speaking, there’s no explicit requirement even to document the decision in meeting minutes. (All the same, I advise every organization to minute this decision anyway to forestall long conversations with your auditor.) Note that if your organization decides, yes, climate change is a relevant issue, then you have to do a lot more. At that point, you have to account for climate change somehow in your QMS, the same way you account for all your other relevant issues.
