How to Address ISO's New Climate Change Requirements

ISO 9001 and other standards will add to clause 4.1 regarding the context of the organization a requirement for the organization to determine whether climate change is relevant to its management system. Clause 4.2 will add that relevant interested parties may have requirements related to climate change.

• ISO 9001 and other standards will add new requirements related to climate change. These fortunately do not require carbon neutrality or de-carbonization.
• Climate change is important because, regardless of whether it is driven by Nature human activities, or both, it is a scientific fact and a potential risk to the continuity of operations. It is however not sufficiently urgent (as demonstrated by climate conference attendees' use of private jets, and profit motives associated with carbon offsets) to justify diversion of resources in an attempt to emulate King Canute's futile command that the tide not come in.
• Benjamin Franklin told us long ago that a penny saved is a penny earned because the avoidance of waste flows directly to the bottom line. A kilowatt-hour saved is similarly the cost of a kilowatt-hour earned, and the removal of energy waste from the supply chain enables lower prices, higher wages, and higher profits. The energy not wasted is also likely to represent carbon dioxide not emitted as well.
• Sun Tzu's Art of War warned 2500 years ago about the impact of weather (which can be affected by climate change) on military operations. Don't build your camp on low ground where it's likely to be flooded, and don't build your factory next to the infamous Susquehanna River (e.g. Hurricane Agnes, 1972) unless it's protected by a levee.  Droughts, heavy rains, snow, and other weather-driven events also can create supply chain risks; low water levels in the Gatun Reservoir impede the operation of the Panama Canal to increase shipping lead times. If your organization has a process in place to identify and mitigate these risks, it is probably meeting the new requirements.
• Many purveyors of carbon neutrality and de-carbonization goals, on the other hand, have profit motives. The high capital costs of direct air capture (DAC) plants, which seek to extract low-concentration carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, do not appear to be as cost-effective as genuine plants. Individuals who wish to offset their carbon emissions can sponsor trees through the US Forest Service, which does not have a profit motive.

ISO standards including ISO 9001:2015 will soon add requirements related to climate change. These fortunately do not require any commitment to carbon neutrality or de-carbonization. The good news is that, if your organization has a process in place to identify and mitigate risks to the continuity of operations, which could include climate-driven weather events, it may already be doing everything it needs to do. In addition, actions to remove energy wastes from the supply chain—and ISO 50001:2018 is very helpful—enable lower prices, higher profits, and higher wages while they reduce carbon emissions.

All persons with responsibility for ISO 9001 and other ISO standards that will incorporate climate-related requirements

William A. Levinson, P.E., is the principal of Levinson Productivity Systems, P.C. He is an ASQ Fellow, Certified Quality Engineer, Quality Auditor, Quality Manager, Reliability Engineer, and Six Sigma Black Belt. He is also the author of several books on quality, productivity, and management, of which the most recent is The Expanded and Annotated My Life and Work: Henry Ford’s Universal Code for World-Class Success.