Points clés de l'article :
- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the new version of ISO 9001 on 16 September 2026, eleven years after the previous one.
- The text now covers climate change, business continuity, quality culture, ethics and knowledge transfer.
- Certified companies have three years to move to the new version, according to AFNOR.
- Quality jobs accounted for 10,850 executive-level job ads in France in 2024, according to Apec.
- Median pay for quality executives is 51,000 euros gross per year, according to Apec (2025 edition).
On 16 September 2026, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the new version of ISO 9001, according to AFNOR, the French standards body. ISO 9001 sets the rules for a quality management system. It describes how a company organises itself to deliver products and services that meet its customers’ expectations, and then to keep improving. The previous version dated from 2015. Eleven years later, the text covers topics that were not in it before: climate change, ethics and artificial intelligence.
The standard carries real weight. At the end of 2022, more than 1.26 million ISO 9001 certificates were active worldwide, including 21,880 in France. These figures come from the ISO Survey, ISO’s annual census of certifications, as analysed by AFNOR. France ranked tenth in the world. Its number of certificates was flat, while it grew by about 12% worldwide.
ISO 9001: a standard, an audit, a certificate
An ISO standard is a reference document, drafted by experts from several countries and adopted by vote. It is not mandatory. A company that wants to prove it complies hires an independent certification body. An auditor comes on site to check, going through documents and interviewing staff. If the company meets the requirements, it receives a certificate valid for three years, with a follow-up audit every year. For many suppliers, the certificate serves as proof of reliability for clients and in tenders.
The 2026 version was prepared by ISO’s technical committee on quality, ISO/TC 176. According to AFNOR, France chairs it through Renault, and Norway runs its secretariat.
ISO 9001:2026: what changes
AFNOR sets out the changes in an article published in September 2026.
Climate. Companies must determine whether climate change affects their business. This requirement was added by an amendment in 2024. It is now written into the standard itself. A manufacturer whose main supplier sits in a flood zone will have to factor this into its risk analysis. So will a haulier whose deliveries suffer during heatwaves.
Business continuity. The company must plan how to keep operating if an identified risk materialises. It must do so without harming product compliance or customer satisfaction.
Risks and opportunities. The 2015 version treated them together. The new one separates them more clearly.
Quality culture and ethics. Management must make the company’s quality culture and expected ethical behaviour known to all employees, at every level.
Knowledge. Identifying the knowledge the company needs is no longer enough. It must also be preserved, applied and shared. The typical case: a technician retires and is the only person who knows how to set up a machine.
New technologies. The text encourages companies to assess the risks and opportunities of tools such as artificial intelligence, and to write down who decides what. AFNOR notes that these are recommendations, not requirements.
One last, more technical change: the content of the standard is tagged so that software can read it. AFNOR describes it as one of the first so-called “smart” standards. “This new version of the ISO 9001 standard is designed to more effectively help organizations,” says Vincent Blache, quality expert at the AFNOR Group, in the English version of AFNOR’s article.
Quality is not the only area changing. ISO 14001, the environmental management standard, has also been updated: its new version was published on 15 April 2026, according to the certification body Bureau Veritas. It gives more weight to climate change and to the product life cycle, from the supply chain to end of life. Managers who run both systems therefore have two transitions to carry out at once.
Three years to move to ISO 9001:2026
Certified companies have three years from publication to pass a transition audit, AFNOR says. Surveillance and recertification audits can follow the 2015 version until the second half of 2029. After that, only the 2026 version will be accepted.
In practice, a transition of this kind involves several steps:
- a gap analysis, comparing the current quality system with the new requirements;
- an updated risk analysis, adding climate and business continuity;
- a plan to preserve and pass on the company’s key knowledge;
- raising staff awareness of quality culture and ethics;
- an internal audit and a management review, before the transition audit carried out by the certification body.
This work falls to the quality department or the QHSE department (quality, health, safety and environment). In many companies, that department also manages workplace safety, under ISO 45001, and the environment, under ISO 14001.
The quality jobs companies are hiring for
In June 2025, Apec, the French association for executive employment, published a study titled “Les métiers cadres de la fonction Qualité et sécurité” (executive jobs in quality and safety). According to the study, quality jobs accounted for 10,850 executive-level job ads in 2024. That makes it the largest of the three job families in the field. Apec includes roles such as quality officer, quality engineer, quality manager and quality consultant.
The skills most often requested in these ads match the projects set by the new standard: knowledge of ISO standards, audit techniques, risk analysis and prevention, handling non-conformities and tracking performance indicators. As for soft skills, Apec notes that rigour is requested more often for these roles than for other executive jobs.
On pay, Apec publishes an annual study titled “Les rémunérations des cadres dans 111 familles de métiers” (executive pay in 111 job families). In the 2025 edition, the median pay of executives in quality jobs is 51,000 euros gross per year, including variable pay. It is 45,000 euros for those under 35. Eight in ten earn between 38,000 and 76,000 euros.
Training at a QHSE school
At a QHSE school such as Klima School, these projects are at the heart of the Bachelor 3 in Sustainable Business Strategy, QHSE & CSR. In one year, after two years of higher education, students learn to work with the ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 frameworks. They carry out a compliance diagnosis, run a mock audit to spot non-conformities and map a company’s business processes. The programme leads to the French state-registered RNCP 39599 level 6 title, “Responsable de projet qualité sécurité environnement et développement durable”.
After a bachelor’s degree, the Mastère in Sustainable Business Strategy, QHSE & CSR extends this path over two years, with a more strategic focus. It leads to the RNCP 37769 level 7 title, “Manager de la responsabilité sociétale des entreprises et du développement durable”.
These programmes run as work-study, four days in a company and one day at school. Tuition is then covered by the company’s skills operator (OPCO), and the student is a salaried employee. They are also open as full-time study. Classes take place on the Nanterre campus, west of Paris, or online, with intakes in September and January. To see what classes look like, read what you actually learn at a business school focused on climate transition. On the climate side, read our article on COP31 and CSR careers.
Frequently asked questions about ISO 9001:2026 and quality careers
What is ISO 9001:2026? It is the new version of the international quality management standard, published on 16 September 2026 according to AFNOR. It replaces the 2015 version and adds, among other things, climate change, business continuity, ethics and knowledge transfer.
Does a company certified to ISO 9001:2015 have to change? Yes. According to AFNOR, it has three years from publication to pass a transition audit. After the second half of 2029, only the 2026 version will be accepted.
What training do you need to work in quality? At Klima School, a QHSE school in Nanterre, the Bachelor 3 takes one year after two years of higher education and leads to the RNCP 39599 level 6 title, “Responsable de projet qualité sécurité environnement et développement durable”. After a bachelor’s degree, the Mastère leads in two years to the RNCP 37769 level 7 title. Both run as work-study or full-time study.
To compare the programmes, download the brochure or book a call with an adviser.
