What is the London Declaration?
In a bid to help accelerate the successful achievement of the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Call for Action on Adaptation and Resilience, ISO have agreed to a Climate Commitment that will affect all management system standards. What it means for you is that there needs to be some consideration over whether climate change is a relevant issue that could affect your organisation and its relevant management system.
What are the new requirements and how do you comply with them?
The new requirements are written as stated here:-
“4.1 Understanding the organisation and its context.
The organisation 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 relevant management system.
Added: The organisation shall determine whether climate change is a relevant issue.
4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties.
The organisation shall determine:
- the interested parties that are relevant to the relevant management system.
- the relevant requirements of these interested parties.
- which of these requirements will be addressed through the relevant management system.
Added: NOTE: Relevant interested parties can have requirements related to climate change.
In order to comply with these new requirements, you must make a statement within your scoping document to confirm whether climate change is, or is not a relevant issue and if it is, to define how it is an issue to your organisation. This will then feed into your management system controls such as risk management. You may also decide that interested parties to your management have needs and expectations that relate to climate change eg. your customers may require you to demonstrate carbon reduction commitments or industry regulators may require a focus on sustainable resourcing of materials.
How can climate change affect your management system?
ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems
- Compliance requirements – these can in a roundabout way affect quality in that things like the waste packaging requirements could affect large manufacturers and their operational processes. Similarly, the single use plastic ban could affect a catering company and could form part of their supplier approval records.
- Customer requirements – ISO 9001 is all about meeting customer requirements. Customers are now pushing their sustainability requirements down the supply chain and so things like tenders and supplier approval criteria is taking into account things like carbon reduction targets.
- Product design – In a similar vein as above, the design and development of products and certainly architecturally is becoming critical to take into account sustainability eg sourcing of sustainable raw materials, utilising renewable energy sources, recycling requirements etc.
- Building vulnerability – As we know in this neck of the woods, flooding seems to be an increased challenge year on year. If your physical premises is anywhere near a river or area susceptible to flooding, then consideration should be given to alternative methods of fulfilling requirements in the event of flooding eg outsourcing or temporary relocation and maybe long-term plans to permanently relocate.
- Supply chain – Certain issues may arise with the supply chain. Certainly, in the food and catering industries, droughts or floods can affect the sourcing and availability of certain foods. There can also be issues with physically getting goods and materials delivered.
- Work environment – There may also be issues with operational conditions. Site based workers could be subjected to higher working temperatures which impact on their ability to carry out work. PPE may cause extra heat and in turn heat stroke or workers passing out. High rainfall can also cause issues on site where flooding or slip conditions can render work unsafe and may impact on work being completed on time.
ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems
- Net zero targets – In line with the government target of achieving their net zero target by 2050 (insert your chosen ridicule or distain for anything emanating from government here!!!!), a lot of organisations are looking to set their own net zero targets which is sometimes being driven down supply chains.
- Sourcing renewable energy – In order to help reduce to rate of increase in climate change, renewable energies are now being considered when sourcing energy but also for generating energy.
- Emergency procedures – Climate change can drive further consideration for emergency procedures to be adapted to take into account flooding or fire.
ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems
- Work environment – Much the same as with ISO 9001, there are site-based risks associated with climate change that should be managed accordingly. This could include things like high pollen counts that could affect asthmatics. There are also issues with things like dust generated from heavy plant in hot weather. Heat stress could be part of your risk management processes.
- UV Radiation – Increased UV exposure could be a consideration for organisations whose staff may spend extended time out in the open. Protective measures such as sunscreen, UV protective clothing / glasses and possibly adjusted working hours could be considered.
- Emergency procedures – An increased risk of flood or possible fire if the client is in the vicinity for say a woodland or forest area could be an issue to consider and be an increased risk due to climate change.
ISO 27001 Information Security Management Systems
- Work environment – Critical power infrastructures are reliant upon energy and any shortfall in energy could affect reliance on cyber defences.
- Disruptive events - There could also be increased threats from climate activists either on the physical premises depending on your industry but also on energy infrastructure.
ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management Systems
- Disruptive emergencies - Climate change could increase the possibility of disruptive weather events like flooding or extreme heat which could result in loss of premises or reduction in the ability of the workforce to complete job / projects on time.
- Operational issues - An increase in home working can result in reduced available bandwidth which, in turn could affect the ability of home workers to carry out their work effectively.
- Disruptive events - Some industries could be susceptible to disruption from climate change activists.
ISO 20000-1 Information Technology – Service Management
- Disruptive emergencies - Climate change could increase the possibility of disruptive weather events like flooding or extreme heat which could result in loss of premises or reduction in the ability of the workforce to complete job / projects on time.
- Operational issues - An increase in home working can result in reduced available bandwidth which, in turn could affect the ability of home workers to carry out their work effectively.
- Disruptive events - Some industries could be susceptible to disruption from climate change activists.
ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems
- Climate projects – Large pools of funds are being made available climate projects and an inherent increased risk of bribery to access the funds associated with these projects.
- Regulations – National climate change regulations could provide bribery risk of corrupt officials demanding facilitation payments in exchange for approvals or permits.
These issues are not exhaustive but should help to identify whether climate change is a relevant issue to your organisation and management system.
If you require any further help / clarification please contact the office.
