Understanding the organisation and its context
Changed in ISO 9001:2026
Same requirement, plus: determine whether climate change is a relevant issue and record a conclusion either way (already in force via the 2024 amendment).
Checked against the published text on 27 September 2026.
Plain-language summary
The context requirement itself carries over from 2015: determine the external and internal issues relevant to your purpose, strategic direction and QMS. What changes is one named issue — climate change. You must now determine whether climate change is a relevant issue for your organisation and record a conclusion either way. This is already mandatory: the February 2024 amendment inserted it into 9001:2015 ahead of the full 2026 revision, so the 2026 text confirms rather than introduces it.
What the clause is really asking
Not that every organisation builds a climate programme — only that the question is genuinely asked. Physical exposure (sites, logistics, utilities), transition exposure (customer requirements, energy costs, regulation) and market exposure are considered against your actual operations, and the answer — including 'not relevant, because…' — is recorded and kept current.
What auditors look for
Auditors will look for the climate question answered somewhere credible: the context analysis (SWOT/PESTLE), management-review inputs, or the risk register. A blank is a finding; so is a copy-paste 'considered, not relevant' with no reasoning behind it for a business with obvious exposure (cold chain, water-intensive processes, coastal sites, energy-intensive production).
Typical evidence
Context analysis (FM-014-style) with a dated climate-change line and a reasoned conclusion; where relevant, linked entries in the risk register; management-review minutes showing the context review.
How to comply — recommendations
Add one honest row to your existing context analysis: is climate change a relevant issue for us — physically, commercially, through regulation, or via customer expectations? Record the reasoning, not just the verdict. If yes, carry the specific risks into the 6.1 register with owners. Refresh at the annual context review.
Common nonconformities
Context analysis silent on climate; a 'not relevant' conclusion with no rationale; climate risks identified in context but never appearing in the risk register or reviews.
Related clauses
ISO 9001:2026 — see also 4.2, 6.1.1–6.1.3, 9.3
In the book
Chapter 4 — Context — The Questions Before the System treats this clause family in full: what it is really asking, what auditors look for, the evidence that satisfies, how to make it work on a real floor, and where companies stumble.
Resources for this clause
- ArticleClimate change in your context: clauses 4.1 and 4.2
- Toolkit · $29ISO 9001:2026 Transition ToolkitTurn the 2026 changes into a working plan: gap checklist, clause-by-clause guidance and an action plan you can put in front of management.
- Toolkit · $99ISO 9001 Documentation ToolkitStop writing your QMS from a blank page: a fully-written quality manual, ten complete procedures and the working forms, logs and registers behind them — one numbering scheme, already cross-referenced, ready to adapt.
- Free masterclass · ~15 minISO 9001:2026 MasterclassEvery ISO 9001:2026 change in plain English — climate context, quality culture & ethics, the risk/opportunity split, Annex A and the 3-year clock.
- Free course moduleInternal Auditor course — Auditing the New Ground: ISO 9001:2026 Audit Trails
- Course modulePractitioner course — Context, Interested Parties & ScopeClauses 4.1–4.4
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