Hot Austria

The effects of global warming are greater in Austria than in other regions.

"Hot Austria" was the headline in the Kurier newspaper, while ORF, the Standard newspaper, and other media outlets reported extensively on the second and current climate assessment report by 200 scientists. 3.1 degrees of warming is just the beginning, and 40 hot days per year with temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius are very possible. Politics, society, and the economy all have a responsibility, because the annual damage caused by climate change already amounts to 2 billion euros and could rise to almost 11 billion by 2050. In other words: Doing nothing will cost a lot of money and quality of life.

It's no coincidence that the 2024 Amendment included climate change and climate change adaptation as requirements in all ISO management standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, etc. This risk-based approach also makes perfect sense. The background is the ISO's London Declaration of September 2021.

Climate change plays a central role in the New Green Deal. The EU taxonomy and the implementing regulations for the CSRD also focus on climate change. These always focus on two perspectives: the contribution to reducing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and F-gases, and the identification and assessment of acute and chronic climate risks in short-, medium-, and long-term scenarios, including the derivation of possible adaptation solutions. CO2 is also becoming a new "currency." Quality Austria is therefore intensively examining the potential consequences, opportunities, and risks, because the new challenges can and must be actively managed. Quality Austria is also actively involved in standardization at national and international levels.

What are the connections between quality or occupational safety and climate change?

One might think that greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks are merely an environmental management issue. What does climate change have to do with quality management? Yields and quality in agriculture can be affected. Rice, coffee, bananas, oranges, and wine have suffered yield losses due to extreme weather, and prices are rising. As the number of hot days increases, maintaining the cold chain in the food sector (HACCP, ISO 22000) becomes more challenging. Pests can spread more easily.

Processes such as gluing, which depend on temperature ranges, could be affected. Productivity could decline because physical strain increases and the ability to concentrate decreases. The 2019 ILO Report concludes with its forecast for 2030: heat stress will reduce productivity hours by up to 2.2%. At the 10th qualityaustria Sustainability Forum (available for review), the renowned environmental physician Hutter said: "Heat means hard work for the human body. If it's too hot, concentration decreases significantly due to the thermal stress. This makes us more prone to errors and generally less productive, which in turn affects quality," said Hutter. The expert advocates that companies, purely for their own benefit, already give employee protection a much higher priority in their ESG strategies than before. If the cooling system reaches its performance limits or even fails, this can also affect IT security (ISO 27001), because cooling of server rooms and data centers is necessary.

What does climate change have to do with occupational health and safety management? Accidents have been proven to increase with rising temperatures. The German professional association BG Bau (Construction of the Building Industry) found in 2020 that the number of accidents increased by seven percent at temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, and the VCÖ (Construction of the Austrian Construction Industry Association) also observed a significant increase in traffic accidents of approximately 20 percent. In the ISO world, a dedicated ISO guideline, ISO 45007, is even dedicated to climate change in the context of occupational health and safety, and is currently being finalized. Emergency planning must consider potential extreme events.

So what can ISO management systems achieve?

Every organization certified according to ISO management system standards must consider the potential impacts of climate change in its context analysis. This promotes a risk-based approach and identifies potential opportunities and risks, even in the long term. Existing risk management is supplemented by climate risk and vulnerability analysis. This enables organizations to plan accordingly and implement adaptation measures. Quality Austria auditors also examine these aspects during the audit. Quality Austria recommends ISO 14090 and 14091 as a complementary standard on this topic.

Climate risk analyses made easy

Quality Austria Consulting can support organizations in climate risk analysis. Through a partnership, Quality Austria Consulting has access to a global database and can scientifically identify acute and chronic risks for specific organizations. The Integrated Management Systems Refresher seminar also covers modules on climate risk analysis and climate change and occupational safety.

How do you correctly account for greenhouse gases?

ISO 14064 and ISO 14067 are internationally recognized standards for greenhouse gas accounting at the company and product level. These standards are also referenced in European legislation as state-of-the-art. Quality Austria Academy has been offering basic and advanced training courses for several years. Quality Austria Certification is already globally accredited for ISO 14064, and the accreditation process for ISO 14067 is currently underway. This means that Quality Austria audits greenhouse gas balances for companies, projects, and products according to international and accreditable standards and issues corresponding audit certificates. If you want to make possible statements about climate neutrality, you should definitely integrate the ISO 14068 standard into your accounting. This makes greenhouse gas statements valid and traceable, and they stand up against possible accusations of greenwashing.

Role and levers of the circular economy

Without a transformation of linear thinking into a circular economy, we will not achieve our climate goals. Maintaining competitiveness and increasing the resilience of companies and the business location are also addressed by the European Commission in the Clean Industrial Deal and the Circular Economy Act planned for 2026 – the circular economy is a key lever here. Quality Austria also recognized this development early on, providing significant financial support for the IQD endowed professorship at the JKU during its development phase, and gaining practical experience in Cradle to Cradle certification through its cooperation with EPEA Switzerland. Together with SQS, Quality Austria developed the Circular Globe® assessment model for the circular economy based on the Excellence Model and international standards such as ISO 59004ff and offers it as a guideline, a course, a compact assessment, and a comprehensive assessment.

In other words, the qualityaustria Group offers tools and instruments that all contribute to continuous improvement, reducing carbon footprints, and managing climate risks. This includes targeted competency development, specific consulting, audits, assessments, and verifications according to internationally recognized standards. Together, we can be part of the solution.