iso 26000 mgt briefing

7/30/2019 ISO 26000 Mgt Briefing

1/6ISO Management Systems September-October 2009 7

SPECIAL REPORT

ISO 26000 Social responsibility

Executive briefing onISO 26000

The future International Standard ISO 26000, Guidance on social

responsibility, will provide harmonized, globally relevant guidance for

private and public sector organizations of all types based on interna-

tional consensus among expert representatives of the main stakeholder

groups and so encourage the implementation of best practice in social

responsibility worldwide.

by Roger Frost

ISO Management Systems, www.iso.org/ims


2/68 ISO Management Systems September-October 2009

SPECIAL REPORT

ISO 26000 will both add val-uetoexistingworkonsocial

responsibility(SR)andextend

the understanding and imple-

mentionofSRby:

Developing an interna-

tional consensus on what

SRmeansandtheSRissues

that organizations need to

address

Providing guidance on

translating principles into

eective actions

Reningbestpracticesthat

have already evolved and

disseminating the inor-

mation worldwide or the

good o the international

community.

What is ISO 26000 ?

ISO 26000, now under devel-

opment, is an ISO Interna-

tional Standard giving guid-

ance on SR. It is intended

or use by organizations o

all types, in both public and

private sectors, in developed

and developing countries, as

well as in economies in tran-

sition. It will assist them in

their eorts to operate in the

socially responsible manner

that society increasingly de-

mands.

ISO 26000 contains volun-

tary guidance, not require-

ments, and thereore will not

be or use as a certiication

standard like ISO 9001:2008

and ISO 14001:2004.

Why is ISO 26000

important ?Sustainable business or or-

ganizations means not only

providing products and serv-

ices that satisy the customer,

and doing so without jeop-

ardizing the environment,

but also operating in a social-

ly responsible manner.

Pressure to do so comes rom

customers, consumers, gov-ernments, associations and

the public at large. At the

same time, ar-sighted or-

ganizational leaders recog-

nize that lasting success must

be built on credible business

practices and the prevention

o such activities as raudu-

lent accounting and labour

exploitation.

On the one hand, there hasbeen a number o high-level

declarations o principle re-

latedtoSRand,ontheother,

therearemanyindividualSR

programmes and initiatives.

The challenge is how to put

the principles into practice

and how to implement SR

eectively and eiciently

when even the understanding

o what social responsibili-ty means may vary rom one

programme to another. In

addition, previous initiatives

have tended to ocus on cor-

porate social responsibility,

while ISO 26000 will provide

SR guidance not only for

business organizations, but

also or public sector organi-

zations o all types.

ISOsexpertiseisindevelop-ing harmonized international

agreements based on double

levels o consensus among

the principal categories o

stakeholder, and amongcountries (ISO is a network

o the national standards

bodies o 162 countries).

ISO 26000 will distil a global-

ly relevant understanding o

what social responsibility is

and what organizations need

to do to operate in a socially

responsible way.

How will ISO 26000 helporganizations ?

ISO 26000 will help all types

o organization regardless

o their size, activity or loca-

tion to operate in a socially

responsible manner by pro-

viding guidance on :

Concepts, terms and dei-nitions relating to social

responsibility

The background, trendsand characteristics o social

responsibility

Principles and practicesrelating to social responsi-

bility

Core subjects and issuesrelating to social responsi-

bility

Integrating, implement-ing and promoting social-

ly responsible behaviour

throughout the organization

and

Its sphere o inluence

Identiying and engagingwith stakeholders

Communicating commit-

ments and perormancerelated to social responsibil-

ity.

What does ISO 26000

contain ?The detailed content o ISO

26000 is evolving throughout

its development process. The

current drat document cov-

ers the ollowing :

The guidance in ISO 26000

is intended to be clear and

understandable even to

non-specialists as well as

objective and applicable to

all types o organization,

including big business and

small and medium-sized en-terprises, public administra-

tions and governmental or-

ganizations.

Foreword

Introduction

1 Scope

2 Terms and deinitions

3 Understanding social re-

sponsibility

4 Principles o social respon-

sibility

5Recognizingsocialrespon-

sibility and engaging stake-

holders

6 Guidance on social respon-

sibility core subjects

7 Guidance on integrating so-

cial responsibility through-

out an organization

AnnexAVoluntaryinitia-

tives and tools or social re-

sponsibility

AnnexBAbbreviations

Bibliography

Index



3/6

SPECIAL REPORT

How does ISO 26000 relate

to existing good work ?The guidance in ISO 26000

draws on best practice devel-

oped by existing public and

private sector SR initiatives.

It is consistent with and com-

plements relevant declara-

tions and conventions by the

United Nations and its con-

stituents, notably the Interna-

tional Labour Organization

(ILO), with whom ISO has

established a Memorandum

o Understanding (MoU)

to ensure consistency with

ILO labour standards. ISO

has also signed MoUs with

the United Nations Global

Compact Oice (UNGCO)

and with the Organisation

or Economic Co-operation

and Development (OECD)

to enhance their cooperationon the development o ISO

26000.

How did the ISO 26000initiative come about ?

The need or ISO to work

onan SRstandardwas first

identiied in 2001 by ISO/

COPOLCO, Committee on

consumer policy. In 2003, themulti-stakeholder ISO Ad

HocGrouponSRwhichhad

been set up by ISOs Technical

Management Board (TMB)

completedanextensiveover-

viewofSRinitiativesandis-

sues worldwide.

In 2004, ISO held an inter-

national, multi-stakeholder

conerence on whether or

notitshouldlaunchSRwork.The positive recommendation

o this conerence led to the

establishment in late 2004 o

the ISO Working Group on

Social Responsibility (ISO/WG SR) to develop the fu-

ture ISO 26000 standard.

Who is developingISO 26000 ?

Ninety-one countries and

42 organizations (see below

or detailed list) with liaison

status are participating in

the ISO/WG SR under the

joint leadership o the ISO

members or Brazil (ABNT)and Sweden (SIS). Six main

stakeholder groups are repre-

sented: industry; government;

labour; consumers: non-

governmental organizations;

service, support, research

and others, as well as a geo-

graphical and gender-based

balance o participants.

When will ISO 26000

be ready ?When this issue oISO Man-

agement Systems was going to

press,ISO26000wasexpect -

ed to move rom the status o

a Committee Drat to that o

Drat International Standard

(DIS) in September 2009.

Publication as an ISO Inter-

national Standard is targeted

or late 2010.

ISO26000

ISO Management Systems September-October 2009 9



4/610 ISO Management Systems September-October 2009

SPECIAL REPORT

What will ISO 26000

achieve ?ISO 26000 will integrate

international expertise on

social responsibility what

it means, what issues an or-

ganization needs to address

in order to operate in a so-

cially responsible manner,

and what is best practice in

implementingSR.ISO26000

willbeapowerfulSRtoolto

assist organizations to moverom good intentions to good

actions.

Record stakeholderparticipation

The membership o the ISO/

WG SR is largest and the

most broadly based in terms

o stakeholder representation

o any single group ormed todevelop an ISO standard.

It is made up of experts

rom ISO members (national

standards bodies NSBs)

and rom liaison organiza-

tions (associations repre-

senting business, consumers

or labour, or inter-govern-

mental or nongovernmental

organizations). Membership

is limited to a maximum ofsixexpertsperNSBandtwo

expertsperliaisonorganisa-

tion.

InJuly2009,theISO/WGSR

had430participatingexperts

and 175 observers rom 91

ISO member countries and

42 liaison organizations.

Argentina(IRAM)

Armenia(SARM)

Australia (SA)

Azerbaijan (AZSTAND)

Austria (ON)

Bahrain (BSMD)

Bangladesh (BSTI)

Barbados (BNSI)

Belarus (BELST)

Belgium (NBN)

Brazil (ABNT)

Bulgaria (BDS)

Canada (SCC)

Chile (INN)

China (SAC)

Colombia (ICONTEC)

Ctedlvore(CODINORM)

CzechRepublic(CNI)

CostaRica(INTECO)Cuba (NC)

Denmark (DS)

Ecuador (INEN)

Egypt (EOS)

Fiji (FTSQCO)

Finland (SFS)

France(AFNOR)

Germany (DIN)

Ghana (GSB)

Greece (ELOT)India (BIS)

Indonesia (BSN)

Iran(ISIRI)

Ireland (NSAI)

Israel (SII)

Italy (UNI)

Jamaica (JBS)

Japan (JISC)

Jordan (JISM)

Kenya (KEBS)Kazakhstan (KAZMEMST)

Korea,Republicof(KATS)

Lebanon(LIBNOR)

Libya (LNCSM)

Malaysia (DSM)

Mauritius (MSB)

Mexico(DGN)

Morocco/Maroc (SNIMA)

Netherlands (NEN)

Nigeria (SON)

Norway (SN)

Oman (DGSM )

Panama (COPANIT)

Peru (INDECOPI)

Philippines (BPS)

Poland (PKN)

Portugal (IPQ)

Qatar (QS)

Romania(ASRO)

RussianFederation(GOSTR)Saint Lucia (SLBS)

Saudi Arabia (SASO)

Serbia (ISS)

Singapore(SPRINGSG)

South Arica (SABS)

Spain(AENOR)

Sweden (SIS)

Switzerland(SNV)

Syria (SASMO)

Thailand (TISI)Trinidad and Tobago (TTBS)

Turkey (TSE)

Ukraine (DSSU)

United Arab Emirates

(ESMA)

United Kingdom (BSI)

Uruguay (UNIT)

USA (ANSI)

Venezuela(FONDONORMA)

Vietnam(TCVN)

Zimbabwe (SAZ).

Liaison organizations

The ollowing organizations

are liaison members o the

ISO/WGSRandhavenomi-

nated experts to participate

in its work :

AccountAbility

AICC (Arican Institute o

Corporate Citizenship)

AIHA (American Industrial

Hygiene Association)

BIAC (The Business and In-

dustry Advisory Committeeto the OECD Organisation

or Economic Co-operation

and Development)

Participating countries

The ISO members o the ollowing countries (the acronyms

oftheNSBsappearinbrackets)havenominatedexpertsto

participate:



5/6ISO Management Systems September-October 2009 11

CI (Consumers International)

EBEN (European Business

Ethics Network)

EC (European Commission)

ECOLOGIA (Ecologists

Linked or Organizing Grass-

roots Initiatives and Action)

EFQMwww.efqm.org

EIRIS Foundation & Ethical

Investment Research Services

(EIRIS) Ltd.

FIABCI (International Real

Estate Federation )

Forum Empresa/

Ethos Institute

FLA ( Fair Labor Association)

GRI (GlobalReporting

Initiative)

IABC (International

Association o Business

Communicators)

ICC (International Chamber

o Commerce)

ICMM (International Council

o Mining and Metals)

IEPF (Institut or Energy and

Environment o the French

speaking countries)

IFAN (International Federation

o Standards Users)

IIED (International Institute

or Environmental and

Development)

IISD (International Instituteor Sustainable Development)

ILO (International Labour

Organization)

INLAC (Latin-American

Institute or Quality Assurance)

Interamerican CSR Network

IOE (International Organiza-

tion o Employers)

IPIECA (International Petro-

leum Industry Environmental

Conservation Association

ISEAL Alliance (International

Social and EnvironmentalAccreditation and Labelling)

ITUC (International Trade

Union Conederation)

NORMAPME

(European Ofce o Crats,

Trades and Small and

Medium-sized Enterprises or

Standardisation)

OECD (Organisation or

Economic Cooperation and

Development)

OGP (International

Association o Oil and Gas

Producers)

Red Puentes

SAI (Social Accountability

International)

Transparency International

UNEP (United Nations Envi-

ronment Programme)

UNSD (United Nations

Division or Sustainable

Development)

UNCTAD (United Nations

Conerence on Trade and

Development)

UN Global Compact

UNIDO (United Nations

Industrial Development

Organization)

WBCSD (World Business

Council on Sustainable

Development)

WHO (World Health

Organization)

World Savings Banks Institute(WSBI)/European Savings

Banks Group (ESBG).

ISO26000

SPECIAL REPORT



6/612 IMS September-October 2009

ISO internal liaisons

The ollowing ISO stand-

ards-developing technical

committees (TCS) have

internal liaison status with

theISO/WGSR:

ISO/TC 159, Ergonomics

ISO/TC 173,Assistive

products for persons with

disability

ISO/TC 176, Quality

management and quality

assurance

ISO/TC 207, Environmen-

tal management.

Observer countries

The ISO members o the

ollowing countries (the ac-

ronyms o the NSBs appear

in brackets) are observers

totheISO/WGSR:

Bolivia(IBNORCA)

Cameroun (CDNQ)

Estonia(ESV)

Guatemala

(COGUANDOR)

Hong Kong, China(ITCHKSAR)

Latvia(LVS)

Lithuania (LST)

Malawi (MDS)

Mongolia (MASM)

New Zealand (SNZ)

Palestine (PSI)

Senegal (ASN).

SPECIAL REPORT

Where can I fnd moreinormation ?

For more inormation on ISO26000 and the ISO Working

Group on Social Responsi-

bility, see the dedicated Web

site: www.iso.org/sr.

This Web site includes docu-

ments giving the background

toISOsSRinitiative,docu-

ments and press releases on

the progress o the work and

how it is being carried out, the

membership and structure otheWGSR, how to partici-

pate in the development o

ISO 26000, a newsletter, de-

velopment timerame, FAQs,

contacts and other inorma-

tion. A number are available

in several languages.

Working documents including

the latest available drat o the

standard can be accessed at :

www.iso.org/wgsr.


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