ISO 9001:2026 strengthens the requirements for top management’s responsibilities, the company’s treatment of risks and opportunities, and the review of planned changes.123 If your company is already certified, you need to compare current practices with the new requirements and address any gaps. You do not need to start over.
What matters most to management
Three changes are particularly relevant to management:
- Top management has clearer responsibility for quality culture and ethical behaviour.12
- Risks and opportunities are separated more clearly in planning.12
- Planned changes must be linked more clearly to the intended results of the management system.12
DNV considers the revision moderate and less extensive than the 2015 revision.2 It still includes several smaller changes. Clause 3 now contains a selection of key terms.2 Clause 4 gives climate and sustainability greater prominence in the context of the organization.12 Clause 7 clarifies employee awareness of quality culture and ethical behaviour, while clause 8 mainly receives minor terminology changes.12 The core requirements for monitoring, internal audit, and management review in clause 9 remain.1 Clause 10 makes management’s role in continual improvement clearer and consolidates some existing improvement requirements.12 Annex A provides more guidance on clauses 4–10.12 There are also editorial clarifications and revised notes in several places.12
The climate element is not entirely new. The 2024 amendment already applies to ISO 9001:2015, so companies should already have determined whether climate change is relevant to their quality management system and whether interested parties have climate-related requirements.142
What the changes mean in practice
Quality culture becomes a clearer management responsibility
As a preparatory step, management can review how desired behaviour shows up in day-to-day work. This may include how employees report defects, who is authorized to stop work, and how managers respond when time or cost conflicts with customer requirements.
Risks and opportunities need to be tracked separately
The new edition distinguishes more clearly between risks and opportunities in clause 6.1.12 Management needs to determine whether both can be tracked from assessment through decision and review. You do not need a new register if your current approach already provides that traceability.
Changes need a stated result
ISO 9001:2015 already requires changes to be planned with consideration for their purpose, consequences, resources, and responsibilities, among other factors.5 The new edition links change management more clearly to the intended results of the management system.12 This makes it more important to state what a change should achieve and when the result will be reviewed.
What a certified company should do now
Appoint an owner and obtain the published standard. Gather the processes and controlled documents that may be affected, compare current practices with the new requirements, and plan the necessary changes. Implement the changes and review their results. Then update clause references. Ask your certification body to confirm the transition period and how upcoming audits will be affected.3
Footnotes
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BSI, “ISO 9001:2026 – Key Changes and Guidance”. https://www.bsigroup.com/en-US/products-and-services/standards-services/iso-9001-2026-key-changes-and-guidance/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13
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DNV, “ISO 9001:2026 Standard Revision”. https://www.dnv.com/assurance/Management-Systems/new-iso/transition/iso-9001-revision/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14
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LRQA, “ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 revisions”. https://www.lrqa.com/en/assessment-certification/iso-standards-revision/ ↩ ↩2
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ISO, “ISO 9001:2015/Amd 1:2024, climate action changes”. https://www.iso.org/standard/88431.html ↩
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ISO 9001:2015, clause 6.3, requires changes to the quality management system to be carried out in a planned manner, considering purpose, consequences, system integrity, resources, and responsibilities. ↩
