COMMENTS ON ISO 9001:202x

From “the horse’s mouth”, excuse the pun.

David J Stables
National Convenor: SABS ISO TC 176/SC2/WG29 for the rewrite of ISO 9001:2015
Director: TIQMS
MTech: Quality
SA representative to ISO for writing ISO 9001:2015
SA representative to ISO for writing ISO 19011:2011

I have been receiving many queries of what to expect in the new ISO 9001. You should not be concerned about this at the moment. We have had two international meetings so far, restricted to nominated national expert only. In South Africa this is myself as the National Convenor and Xolani Mphalwa of Blackstone Consulting Ltd. The meetings were: 4 – 8 December 2023 in London, which we attended via Zoom, and 19 – 23 February 2024 which was a virtual meeting. The next meeting will be a Hybrid meeting 15 – 19 July 2024 in Chicago. The ETA for the new ISO 9001 is expected to be November 2025. Organizations would then probably have 18 months to adapt to the new Standard.

For any queries or fact checking you are welcome to contact me via e-mail – david@tiqms.co.za.

One of the main concerns from QMS managers, implementers, internal auditors and Certification Body auditors is the new requirement on Climate Change. The following are extracts from: ISO-TMBG-JTCG_ N748_ Deploying ISO's London Declaration to Climate Change via MSS date 4/10/2023.

This document contains important information on recent changes to Appendix 2 of Annex SL related to Climate Change for ALL ISO Management System Standards, not just ISO 9001. The changes will be found in:

4.1 Understanding the organization and its context.

The organization shall determine external and internal issues that are relevant to its purpose.

and that affect its ability to achieve the intended result(s) of its XXX management system.

Added: The organization shall determine whether climate change is a relevant issue.

4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties.

The organization shall determine:

• the interested parties that are relevant to the XXX management system.

• the relevant requirements of these interested parties.

• which of these requirements will be addressed through the XXX management system.

Added: NOTE: Relevant interested parties can have requirements related to climate change

What this means for organizations that have implemented one or more management system standards

Millions of organizations have implemented or are certified to one or more of ISO’s MSS across a wide range of economic sectors, in various types and sizes of organizations operating in diverse geographical, cultural, and social conditions. Supporting the governance of an organization and providing confidence in its activities is what management system standards do, and climate change is an issue that can impact many different facets of an organization; from supply chains, employee health and safety, resource or energy availability and usage, business continuity and resilience, asset management and meeting customer, consumer and contractual requirements and other expectations from relevant interested parties.

A common misconception is that climate change considerations are limited to organizations that have chosen to implement an environmental management system such as ISO 14001.
In fact, most organizations are likely to be affected by climate change in one way or another and may need to adapt to it in order to continue to meet their objectives and fulfil their strategic purpose. Organizations may also choose (or be required by relevant interested parties) to take action to mitigate climate change as part of their operations. Both of these elements (climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation) are now addressed in the Harmonized Structure (as above).

For users of management system standards, determining the issues that are relevant to their scope and purpose is not a new requirement. Many organizations may have already thoughtabout how climate change can affect their business and determined whether or not it is a relevant issue that needs to be addressed within their particular context. This will in turn have fed into their policies and objectives and been actioned/deployed as part of their risk and opportunity management processes.

For organizations that are only now beginning to understand how climate change adaptation and mitigation might affect their operations, this change in the text of the Harmonized Structure will serve as a “wake-up call” or reminder.

Summary
The London Declaration to combat climate change through standards was approved by all  ISO Member Bodies at the General Assembly in 2021 and defines ISO’s commitment to achieve the global climate agenda.
This latest revision to the core text of all MSS further emphasizes that commitment, by leveraging the global penetration of ISO’s portfolio of management system standards and the crucial (and highly visible) role they play.
Climate change adaption and mitigation will now be placed very firmly on the radar screen of millions of organizations around the world as one of many issues within their context  considerations that are relevant to their ongoing resilience, sustainability, and success.

For a free 24-page ISO Booklet on Climate change mitigation, please download from our website and download “Climate Change Mitigation Booklet.pdf” (7.4 Mb).