In support of the ISO London Declaration on Climate Change, ISO passed a resolution that have resulted in two new statements of text being added to a number of existing management systems standards.
The amendment to the standards were published on 22 February 2024, and will be included in all new standards under development/revision, to address the need to consider the effect of Climate Change on the ability to achieve the intended results of the management system.
The changes have been introduced initially as Amendments to these published standards in Clauses 4.1 and 4.2.
The Amendments can be downloaded for free from The ISO Website
Clause 4.1 now includes “The organization shall determine whether climate change is a relevant issue.”
Clause 4.2 now includes “Relevant interested parties can have requirements related to climate change”
The overall intent of the requirements for Clauses 4.1 and 4.2 remain unchanged.
These Clauses already include the need for the organization to consider all internal and external issues that can impact the effectiveness of their management system. These new inclusions assure that Climate Change is considered within the Management System, and that it is an external factor that is important enough for our community to require that companies consider it now.
The amendments are being treated as a clarifications, rather than new requirements, therefore new Certificates will not be issued to clients.
Where an organization cannot demonstrate that all external and internal issues, including climate change, have been determined as relevant or not, a suitable finding should be raised by the Audit Team.
This means that each organisation should now review and consider whether climate change impacts their management system. Some organisations will see no impact or change to their system, others may see a significant impact and changes as a result.
Organisations are expected to analyse all of their internal and external issues, along with the needs and expectations of relevant interested parties. These matters will determine what needs to be addressed by their management system.
For further information, please contact your local PQAL Office
