Climate change is no longer a peripheral sustainability issue; it is now an explicit consideration within ISO management system standards. The amendments issued by ISO in 2024 clarify how climate change must be addressedall ISO management system standards, including ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environment) and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety). No new clauses were added, but expectations for application have been strengthened, reinforcing expectations that organisations comprehensively evaluate climate-related risks and opportunities as part of their management systems.
Under Clause 4.1 (Context of the organisation), organisations must consider climate change when identifying internal and external issues that may affect their management systems, these include:
- Physical climate risks: how climate conditions may directly affect operations;
- Regulatory and legal environment: external legal and policy drivers linked to climate change, including Climate change legislation and regulations and energy efficiency or renewable energy requirements
- Operational and Input processes: how climate change may influence operational performance
- Supply chain and market factors
Under Clause 4.2 (Interested parties), climate-related expectations from affected parties – regulators, customers, workers, insurers, and other stakeholders – must be evaluated where relevant. These expectations may include:
- Low carbon services or products
- Protecting employees from climate-related events and illnesses, such as heat stress
- Prevention of climate-related environmental harm, including protecting the physical environment (land, air, water)
ISO introduced these amendments to ensure management systems remain aligned with global environmental realities, including:
- Increasing physical and transition climate risks
- Regulatory and policy developments on emissions and adaptation
- Stakeholder expectations around climate responsibility
- The need for resilient and future-proof management systems
The amendments do not require new policies, targets, or carbon reporting by default. However, organisations must demonstrate that climate change was considered and, if relevant, integrated into risk-based thinking, planning, and operational controls across all management systems.
Organisations that proactively integrate climate considerations into their integrated management systems will not only strengthen compliance but also enhance resilience, credibility, and long-term environmental performance.
