The symptomatic effects of our changing climate have become far more pronounced since the turn of the century. Extreme weather events have become more common, drought periods more pronounce, and sea-level rises more dangerous. Changes in air quality are producing greater human health implications.
Businesses are also suffering disruptions to their value chains, and the emergence of a responding regulatory framework have all created a new environment in which organisations have to operate. Very few businesses can say they have been immune to emerging effects of climate change. Looking forward, the most successful resilient businesses will be those that put climate change adaption as a central pillar of their wider organisational strategy.
There is no question that the emerging climate crisis has, in some form or another, become a hot topic for organisations, with environmental policy increasingly being discussed in board rooms worldwide, with various campaigns being launched and initiatives adopted. For many, efforts have focussed around mitigation, with efforts focussed around limiting the extent of climate change.
Sustainable business practices have been adopted, life-cycle analyses conducted, and carbon-footprinting has becoming increasingly common practice. Such efforts are essential to ensure that global heating is to be kept under the critical juncture of 1.5C higher than pre-industrial levels by 2050.
One essential and effective method for your organisation to assist in this mission is to become IS0 14001 certified, a standard focussed on the creation of an Environmental Management System associated with limiting an organisation’s environmental impact. It does not, however, have to stop there and for forward thinking organisations, adaptation is the logical next step.
One option for organisation’s looking to improve their resilience to climate change is to adopt the complimentary ISO 14090 framework. ISO 14090, provides organisations with a clear and structured approach for addressing the climate emergency and adapting to the emerging threats posed by climate change. Its efforts put emphasis on the short, medium and long-term effects of climate change and allows your company to structure itself in the most efficient way to reduce the effectualness of its risks.
Through the creation of a timeline that factors in the consequences of climate change and evaluation frameworks to assess the validity of different adaptation responses over the lifespan of expected negative externalities, an organisation can continuously manage its resilience and ensure it is in the best position to deal with the realities of a changed world.
The capacity-building exercises offered by ISO 14090 framework holds a great affinity with the sustainability practices of the ISO 14001 standard, with ISO 14001 acting as the logical starting-point but with the two coalescing as the backbone of an organisation’s environmental strategy. The synergy held by the two standards allows for ISO 14001 users to bolster their EMS’s efficacy while concurrently ensuring the organisation’s long-term viability. A great deal of the requirements ISO 14090 align with those found in ISO 14001, with the improvement measures offered by both acting as a pathway to ensuring your organisation’s support of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainability Goals.
If your organisation has implemented a functioning EMS, it will be beneficial to reap the insights offered by ISO14090, particularly due to the heightened importance for organisation’s to address climactic risks and opportunities.
Below, we outline just a few ways in which your ISO 14001 can be supported by the adoption of ISO 14090:
Many other synergies exist and the adoption of both standards will help your organisation to cut through the noise, proving your green credentials and your commitment to a sustainable, successful future.