In recent years there has been a clear shift in perspective on quality. Quality 5.0 is our term for today's concept of quality. It is no longer just about achieving customer satisfaction, but also about how companies and organizations can contribute to the benefit of society.

Sustainability is also an issue that is now high on the agenda in most organizations. This is shown by the latest study from the research platform SQMA, the Swedish Quality Management Academy, in which around 500 experts in the private and public sector described the main challenges for the next five years. Achieving sustainable operations in multiple dimensions was ranked as one of the most important management challenges.

What distinguishes leading organizations is their ability to link economic, social and environmental objectives into a larger whole, without competing with each other. This is the basis for sustainable development.

A few years ago we launched the Quality 5.0 Forum to stimulate dialog on current quality issues. The forum is open to everyone - researchers, experts and practitioners - to contribute anything from long articles to short comments.