ISO 9001 and ISO 14001: moving an integrated system to the 2026 editions: video

Two revisions, shared themes, two deadlines

Both standards have new editions. ISO 14001:2026 was published on 15 April 2026 and ISO 9001:2026 on 16 September 2026. ISO 14001:2015 certificates are no longer valid after 30 April 2029 and ISO 9001:2015 certificates after 30 September 2029, so an organisation holding both should plan around the earlier ISO 14001 deadline and coordinate the two audit cycles. This short film walks through how an integrated system moves to both editions.

The two revisions share themes, such as the planning of changes and the treatment of risks and opportunities, which an integrated system can address once for both. Each standard also has changes of its own: quality culture and a policy tied to strategic direction in ISO 9001, and a broader environmental context, clearer environmental risks and opportunities and wider external-provider wording in ISO 14001.

One coordinated programme with separate checks

The programme starts by confirming the editions held, the two transition end dates, where each certificate sits in its cycle and which audits can carry the transitions. A gap analysis then reviews the integrated system against every changed requirement of both editions. Shared changes are built once for both systems, while separate checks against each standard make sure nothing specific to quality or to the environment is missed.

Training, documentation updates, implementation support, internal auditor training, an internal audit and a pre-assessment report follow, with assistance at the final certification audit. Whether both transitions can be audited together depends on your scopes, audit cycles and certification-body arrangements; the audit sequence is planned with you, and your certification body makes the certification decisions. The benefit is less duplicated effort and one audit plan rather than a scramble near the deadline.

Sterling runs the programme on Sterling OS™ under Revise™, with Effivity and Sterling Academy access included with the engagement.

For organisations that already run quality and environment as one system, this keeps the integration intact through the transition instead of splitting the work into two projects with two teams.