Leverage Your Quality Management System to Implement a Sustainability Program
Sustainability is a topic that is gaining a lot of attention recently. Various manufacturing and service-related industries have a growing interest in sustainability. Many organizations are required to comply with the concept of sustainability through customer or industrial specifications.
Several companies across multiple supply chains are heavily involved in publicly reported sustainability efforts. This is not just limited to chemical, oil and gas, steel related industries but also the hospitality, medical, and similar operations. Although there are many definitions for and interpretations of sustainability, an existing and certified QMS to ISO 9001 can serve as the basis to implement, maintain, and improve a sustainability program.
There are literally scores of sustainability programs an organization can pursue to become qualified or registered. There are however some basic requirements to fulfill for any sustainability program. Most sustainability programs include, but not limited to, the concepts of environment, social, and governance.
The control of policy and procedural documents; collection and maintenance of records; training of personnel; the involvement and consideration of internal and external stakeholders; establishing and improvement of goals; and the consideration of communications are all topics related to a sustainability as well as an ISO 9001 registration.
Regardless of the actual sustainability concepts, the core concepts in ISO 9001:2015 can be used to commence, implement, assist, and maintain a sustainability registration.
An established ISO 9001:2015 certification can assist with and delivery of the implementation and maintenance of a sustainability program.
