01.2025 Climate change: Opportunity and risk assessments are now a mandatory part of the ISO standards

The Thinking Circular® team will support you in your analysis and in the measures to safely meet the standard requirements and increase the resilience of your organization!

International norms and standards can play a central role in the fight against climate change and in adapting to it. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has therefore revised not only its central standard for the environmental management system ISO 14001, but also the standards for many other management systems, including the important ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001. The aim of the ISO is to put the issue of climate change even higher on the agenda of certified organizations to recognize possible effects from the environment on the organization or possible effects of the organization on the environment at an early stage, to evaluate these opportunities and risks and to address them systematically, and thus ultimately to strengthen the resilience of the organization.

What was the initial idea?

Climate change is confronting the world with ever-increasing challenges. Organizations are already feeling the effects today: local extreme weather events such as heat waves, storms, floods or fires are becoming more frequent and endangering the health of employees, facilities and materials. Employees suffer from high temperatures and make more mistakes. The supply of raw materials is becoming less secure in some cases and planning reliability is decreasing. Demand for water, including for cooling, is increasing, as are costs. The energy supply has to be converted, and new and stricter legal and contractual requirements are being issued. Market expectations shift, sometimes steadily, sometimes immediately.

However, climate change as a driver of sustainable transformation also offers opportunities: disruptive business ideas are being developed and replacing old ones. New, promising products and services are entering the market, and market priorities and expectations are changing permanently.

What specifically has been changed?

In all relevant standards, chapters 4.1. and 4.2 have always required organizations to know their interested parties and to regularly consider the extent to which they can influence the effectiveness of their management system.
These previous requirements have now been supplemented: in the context analysis, organizations must in future systematically consider the effects of climate change. This must be done holistically, i.e. taking into account all interested parties and all processes, as well as specifically for the industry, products, locations, etc.

When does the change take effect?

The update has already taken place in 2024. Since this is not a lengthy change to the various existing standards, but rather an addition, the requirement already applies today. This means that auditors are already checking whether and how the organization has taken into account the effects of climate change as part of the surveillance and certification audits.

What does this mean for companies?

Consider the impacts of climate change on your organization and address them systematically and holistically. Identify and reduce risks, take advantage of opportunities, and make your organization resilient and future-ready.

How should you proceed?

The management representatives, as the central coordinators, should first get top management on board, inform them of the formal changes, and establish a regular process for this together.

A broad group of experts should systematically work through the possible opportunities and risks, i.e. first identify them, then evaluate and prioritize them, and, if necessary, take action. It is important to put oneself in the shoes of all relevant stakeholders in order not to overlook any points.

The key questions are:

• What strategic opportunities arise for the organization as a result of climate change? Where are its particular competencies and strengths in demand? What can be done to mitigate climate change or increase resilience within the organization, among customers, consumers or certain other social groups?
• What negative effects can climate change have on the organization? What dangers exist? How must the organization adapt? Which processes, products or services must be secured?

After the first phase, the identification of opportunities and risks, these must be individually evaluated and prioritized; usually semi-quantitatively and considering the two dimensions

• probability of occurrence and
• the severity of the impact if it occurs.

The opportunities and risks identified as relevant are then assigned specific measures and processed systematically. It is important to note that this analysis cannot be a one-time effort, but must be repeated regularly because both the organization and its environment can change: opportunities and risks can develop, assessments can be adjusted, and measures taken can be effective or ineffective.

Do you have any general questions regarding this new ISO requirement? Do you require support in identifying and managing your opportunities and risks? Are you looking for help in determining and following up meaningful corrective and preventive measures? Are you wondering how this can be combined with other legal requirements?

The competent and experienced Thinking Circular® team is ready to assist you.

By: Dr. Thomas Jagella