Understand and Apply ISO New Climate Change Requirements

Clause 4.1 related to the context of the organization adds a requirement for organizations to determine whether climate change is relevant to their management systems. It may be tempting to answer "no" but, if the supply chain and continuity of operations are subject to weather-related risks, it is indeed relevant. Clause 4.2 related to the needs and expectations of interested parties adds that stakeholders may have climate-related requirements.

Climate change is important but not urgent. Important means it is a fact of nature, and the planet's history underscores just how extensive it can be. A climate-driven event like a drought or hurricane can affect supply chains, and organizations need to mitigate risks accordingly. It is not urgent because (1) it is highly questionable as to what human intervention can do about it and (2) many of those who say it is urgent do not walk their talk by, for example, using commercial rather than private jets to attend climate conferences or even holding them online to eliminate all travel costs and carbon emissions.

Benjamin Franklin meanwhile told us that a penny saved is a penny earned because money not wasted flows directly to the bottom line and can be shared with customers, workers, and investors. A kilowatt-hour saved is the cost of a kilowatt-hour earned, and substantial energy wastes can and do hide in many supply chains. The German Second World War game "Hunt for the Coal Thief" personified energy waste as a shadowy villain based on the Sack Man or bogeyman, and taught players how to identify and avoid energy waste in their homes. ISO 50001:2018, meanwhile, includes a gap analysis approach to help identify and remove energy wastes.

• ISO standards add to Clause 4.1 regarding the context of the organization a requirement for organizations to determine whether climate change is relevant to their management systems. Clause 4.2 regarding the needs and expectations of interested parties adds that these may have requirements related to climate change. The changes do not, however, require carbon neutrality or Net Zero goals.
• Climate change is important because it is a fact of nature, as proven by the fact that there were once no polar ice caps at all while, in contrast, glaciers once covered much of North America. Climate-driven events can disrupt supply chains and the continuity of operations. It is however not urgent because efforts to emulate King Canute's decree that the tide not come in are likely to be worse than futile; we will expend a lot of money and still get the climate change. The profit motives of carbon offset sellers, and the failure of climate conference attendees to walk their talk, underscore "not urgent" even further. Direct air capture (DAC), which seeks to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, does not look competitive with something as simple as planting trees.
• Removal of energy waste from operations and also the supply chain saves money that can be shared with customers, employees, investors, and suppliers. Even if the energy not wasted is from renewable sources, it is probably fungible via the power grid with fossil fuels so this reduces carbon emissions as well. Numerous off-the-shelf methods are available to identify and remove energy waste. These include ISO 50001:2018, government programs, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
• Risks associated with weather, which is driven by climate, have been known for thousands of years. Sun Tzu's Art of War warned 2500 years ago that those who camp on low ground may get flooded out. People in Northeast Pennsylvania know today that the Susquehanna River is our friend only when it stays within its banks; manufacturers that are close to it need levees to protect themselves from floods. Futures trading has been used for hundreds of years to mitigate risks from, for example, bad harvests due to climate-related events. If the climate does pose risks to the continuity of operations, then it is relevant.
• The presentation will include a short checklist of items for the organization to consider.

Attendees will receive pdf copies of the slides and handout notes, including references.

Disclaimer; no part of this presentation constitutes engineering advice.

Major ISO standards including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 50001 have been amended to include new requirements related to climate change. The good news is that, if your organization has a process in place to address climate-related risks to continuity of operations, it may already be doing everything necessary. While I recommend against expenditures, such as uneconomical renewable energy or purchase of carbon offsets, whose sole purpose is to reduce carbon emissions, actions to reduce energy waste throughout the supply chain enable lower prices, higher wages, and higher profits along with fewer carbon emissions. Numerous off-the-shelf techniques, such as ISO 50001:2018, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and government programs, are available for this purpose.

All users of ISO standards are affected by the changes.