Changes in environmental standards for 2025: what has happened as of 2026

Environmental and management standards drive the shift towards more sustainable business practices, and they are updated frequently to respond to new challenges. This article reviewed the changes foreseen for 2025 in two key frameworks: ISO 9001 and the CSRD.

Update as of 2026. We have revised the content because both frameworks have evolved: the ISO 9001 revision is published as ISO 9001:2026 (not 2025) and the CSRD has been amended by the Omnibus package, which raised thresholds and postponed deadlines. The correct figures follow.

ISO 9001:2026: the new revision of the quality standard

ISO 9001, the global benchmark for quality management systems, is being revised. The international draft (DIS) was published in August 2025 and the final version, ISO 9001:2026, is expected in September 2026. It is worth clarifying this because it has sometimes been called, mistakenly, ISO 9001:2025.

The real changes the revision introduces

Unlike the more ambitious expectations that circulated at the time, the revision introduces concrete and limited changes:

• Integration of climate change: it incorporates the climate-action amendment published in February 2024 (ISO 9001:2015/Amd 1:2024), which requires organisations to consider the relevance of climate change in their context (clauses 4.1 and 4.2).
• Quality and ethics culture: clause 5.1.1 explicitly asks top management to promote a culture of quality and ethical behaviour.
• Risks and opportunities: risks and opportunities are treated in a more differentiated way.
• Harmonised structure: the structure common to all ISO management-system standards is reinforced, which eases integration with ISO 14001 for environmental management.

Certified organisations will have a three-year transition period from publication, that is, until approximately September 2029, to adapt.

How Manglai helps with the climate dimension

ISO 9001's new climate emphasis connects directly with impact measurement. Manglai helps you assess the relevance of climate change for your organisation and quantify your carbon footprint, an input that is increasingly useful for management systems too.

The CSRD after the Omnibus Regulation

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) significantly widened the scope and depth of sustainability reporting. However, its timetable is no longer the one initially published.

Updated CSRD timeline

The original calendar foresaw entry in waves (large public-interest companies, then the rest of large companies and, later, listed SMEs). The Omnibus Regulation, in force since March 2026, has amended it:

• The main threshold rises to companies with more than 1,000 employees and over 450 million euros in turnover.
• The application of waves 2 and 3 is postponed by two years (the large companies that were going to report on financial year 2025 will do so on financial year 2027).
• Most SMEs fall outside mandatory reporting.

You have the detail in our analysis of the Omnibus Regulation and in the update on the ESG Omnibus in 2026.

What the CSRD still requires

1. Comparable and standardised information on environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects, in line with the ESRS.
2. Principle of double materiality: the company's impact on sustainability and the effect of sustainability on the company.
3. Value-chain coverage, although Omnibus has narrowed some requirements.
4. External verification of the sustainability information.
5. Digital format (tagged XHTML) and alignment with the EU Taxonomy.

Remember that the ESRS themselves have been revised to cut the mandatory datapoints by around 61%, with application expected for financial year 2027.

How to prepare your company

Adapting to these frameworks is both a challenge and an opportunity. Some useful strategies:

1. Assess gaps: compare your current practices with the rules in force (not with those that have already changed).
2. Build capabilities: train your team in sustainability and reporting.
3. Integrate systems: connect sustainability management with your quality and environmental systems.
4. Engage your stakeholders: employees, suppliers and clients.
5. Use the data on sustainability to innovate in products and processes.

Manglai, your ally towards sustainability

Our solutions, which include carbon-footprint measurement and reporting tools, are designed to help you navigate these regulatory changes with reliable data.

Start by trying our carbon footprint calculator and discover which legislation applies to your company with our free environmental obligations checker.