aISO - mcdonald-associates.ca consulting services

ISO Document Stages

The key stage in the development of an ISO Standard is the DIS (Draft International Standard) stage. A DIS is the end result of the work produced by a Working Group and approved by a Technical Committee. A document in the DIS stage is more than 95% technically accurate. A DIS goes out for a five-month approval vote by all 89 voting nations of ISO. Any suggested changes offered as a result of this voting process must be addressed by the Technical Committee and may be incorporated or rejected.

The newly modified DIS is sent to the voting nations as an FDIS (Final Draft International Standard) for a final approval vote (yes or no). Approval of the FDIS automatically instructs ISO to issue the document as a formal ISO Standard within 60 days of FDIS approval.

It should be noted that DIS and FDIS documents may be used as trade references per agreement between a buyer and a seller.

PWI - preliminary work item, NWIP - new work item proposal, WD - working draft, CD - committee draft, DIS - draft international standard, FDIS - final draft international standard

ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems - Requirements specifies requirements for a quality management system (QMS). Organizations use the standard to demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements. It is the most popular standard in the ISO 9000 series and the only standard in the series to which organizations can certify.

This version was designed to make the standard more generic for the ESG integration, which can be explained by the following clauses:

1) The high-level structure is to ensure all management standards can share same common system processes.

2) “Interested parties, needs and expectation” (Clause 4.2) has been addressed, which is considered to be one of the most modern corporate governance principles.

3) ESG risks and opportunities can be made reference to many places in the ISO 9001:2015 standard, from risk assessment in Section 4.4 “Quality management system and processes”, leadership issues in Section 5.1.1 and “Actions to address risks and opportunities” (Clause 6.1.2), to risk-based approaches in “Operational planning and control (Clause 8.1) and Management review (Clause 9.3).

4) The term “documented information” replaces the previous terms “documents” and “records”. This provides users with more flexibility to include the ESG information.

5) The scope of the management review is extended by the addition of the aspects “strategic direction of the organization”, consideration of the “relevant interested parties” and “assessment of risks and opportunities” at the strategic level. This can be also applicable to ESG integration.

6) “Planning of changes” (Clause 6.3) includes the consideration of change to the management system, which sets the requirements to ensure that the sustainable management system can be carried out in a planned manner.

7) The ISO 9001:2015 brings a clear emphasis on the importance of both internal and external communication (Clause 7.4), which is suitable for ESG disclosure and reporting to the investors and regulators.

ISO 14000, a series of standards developed by ISO/TC 207 is defined as a series of international voluntary environmental management standards, guides, and technical reports. The standards specify requirements for establishing an environmental management policy, determining environmental impacts of products or services, planning environmental objectives, implementing programs to meet objectives, and conducting corrective action and management review.
ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management systems — Requirements with guidance for use,
ISO 14004:2016 Environmental management systems — General guidelines on implementation,
ISO 14005:2019 Environmental management systems Greg— Guidelines for a flexible approach to phased implementation

Examples of the linkages between ISO standards and other indicators in ESG frameworks:
•ISO 14064 series on Greenhouse gases (GhG), can assist companies to consistently disclose information about GhG emissions. Additionally, there is a certification program component that includes a third-party assessment to verify the appropriate application of the standard. ISO 14064-1:2018 Greenhouse gases — Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals. This document specifies principles and requirements at the organization level for the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals. It includes requirements for the design, development, management, reporting and verification of an organization's GhG inventory.


• ISO 30415:2021 Human resource management — Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is designed to help companies manage their diversity and inclusion processes, from governance, accountabilities, and responsibilities through to measures, and potential outcomes. By applying ISO 30415: 2021, organizations can demonstrate applying systematic approach based on recognized internationally recognized standards to addressing D&I. This work is complementary to the disclosure required in GRI 405. In the context of GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity “addresses the topic of an organization’s approach to diversity and equal opportunity at work.”

• GRI Disclosure 403-1 Occupational health and safety management system disclosure requirement can be complemented by ISO 45000 Family: Occupational Health and Safety. A family of standards that can help organizations to implement such management system. ISO 45001:2018 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Requirements with guidance for use, ISO/PAS 45005:2020 Occupational health and safety management — General guidelines for safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic. This document also provides guidance relating to the protection of workers of all types (e.g. workers employed by the organization, workers of external providers, contractors, self-employed individuals, agency workers, older workers, workers with a disability and first responders), and other relevant interested parties (e.g. visitors to a workplace, including members of the public).

https://standards.iteh.ai/