Impact of Climate Change Amendment on Performance Evaluation and Improvement in ISO 9001:2015 QMS

Impact of Climate Change Amendment on Performance Evaluation and Improvement in ISO 9001:2015 QMS

 

The February 2024 Amendments in ISO 9001:2015 QMS Standard:

 

Clause 4.1 – Added Requirement: The organization needs to determine whether climate change is a relevant issue.

 

Clause 4.2 – Added Note: Relevant interested parties can have needs and expectations related to climate change.

 

If climate change is deemed a relevant issue by the organization, it may impact the performance evaluation (clause 9) and improvement (clause 10) of the organization's quality management system.

 

The climate change issue may have:

 

(1) Specific monitoring and measuring needs: For example, tracking the carbon footprint, energy consumption, and waste management practices. For a manufacturing company, monitoring and measuring the carbon footprint and energy consumption of production processes could be crucial. This includes tracking greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and waste management.

 

(2) Eventual implications on monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction: For instance, incorporating customer feedback on environmental practices into satisfaction surveys. Customers increasingly value environmentally sustainable practices. Therefore, an organization may need to incorporate customer feedback on its environmental performance into their satisfaction surveys. For instance, a question could be added about the customer's perception of the organization's efforts to reduce its environmental impact.

 

(3) Changes in performance evaluation: This could involve adding new metrics related to environmental sustainability, such as compliance with environmental regulations or achievement of sustainability goals. The organization's performance evaluation criteria might include metrics related to environmental sustainability, such as compliance with environmental regulations, achievement of sustainability goals, or reductions in resource consumption. These metrics can be integrated into the balanced scorecard or other performance evaluation tools.

 

(4) Management review: While reviewing the organization's quality management system, top management should consider any changes related to the climate change issue as a management review input. The management review output may include related decisions, such as implementing new environmental policies, setting sustainability targets, or investing in eco-friendly technologies. During management reviews, the organization's top management may decide to implement new environmental policies or set targets for reducing carbon emissions. They might also decide to invest in renewable energy sources or eco-friendly technologies to improve environmental performance.

Summary

The February 2024 amendments to the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System standard emphasize the importance of addressing climate change as a relevant issue. By incorporating new requirements and considerations for climate change in clauses 4.1 and 4.2, an organization is encouraged to assess its relevance and impact on the organization's quality management system. This assessment may lead to specific monitoring and measuring needs, such as tracking carbon footprints and energy consumption, as well as considering customer satisfaction related to environmental practices. Furthermore, the organization may need to update its performance evaluation metrics to include environmental sustainability and make informed decisions during management reviews.  

 

Regards,

Keshav Ram Singhal