Image via WikipediaReflecting on the major stories of the past 15 days of the New Year - floods in Australia and Brazil, shooting of public officials in the US state of Arizona with its relaxed approach to firearms, extravagant bankers bonuses, food riots that led to the overthrow of a dictatorship in Tunisia - there are common themes such as climate change, ethics and human rights which all fall under the vast umbrella of social responsibility.
Into this foray at a critical time in 21st Century history enters the ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility: that explains all we currently know about corporate social responsibility & sustainability delivered in 120 pages of diagrams and illustrations. The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) whose traditional focus has been on engineering and scientific issues felt compelled to lend clarity to the existing proliferation of CSR reporting schemes and standards and began work on the ISO 26000 standard in 2002.
The ISO 26000 standard builds on Brundtland definition of sustainability and interprets its approach through an understanding of the interconnectedness of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The approach to sustainability and corporate social responsibility is based on an organisation defining its priorities in relation to the core subjects of the standard which are organisational governance, human rights, labour practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, community involvement and development.
The standard clearly describes best practice guidance for each core subject yet avoiding being prescriptive. In my opinion the ISO 26000 standard in its present form cannot be a certifiable standard as its 120 pages of potential criteria will be a certification auditors nightmare and thankfully the ISO committee has not indicated any intention of pursuing this option at present. Sentiments expressed by emerging economies such as India on the inclusion of labour practices as a core subject is being perceived as a competitive barrier to trade and in the case of China the use of human rights criteria as a potential indirect attack on its national sovereignty.
If recent events are any indication of potential future threats to governments and organisations, visionary political and business leaders will embrace the principles of the ISO 26000 standard to create new competitive models and produce products and services that not only sustains growth but contributes to the development of a socially responsible society.
Into this foray at a critical time in 21st Century history enters the ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility: that explains all we currently know about corporate social responsibility & sustainability delivered in 120 pages of diagrams and illustrations. The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) whose traditional focus has been on engineering and scientific issues felt compelled to lend clarity to the existing proliferation of CSR reporting schemes and standards and began work on the ISO 26000 standard in 2002.
The ISO 26000 standard builds on Brundtland definition of sustainability and interprets its approach through an understanding of the interconnectedness of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The approach to sustainability and corporate social responsibility is based on an organisation defining its priorities in relation to the core subjects of the standard which are organisational governance, human rights, labour practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, community involvement and development.
The standard clearly describes best practice guidance for each core subject yet avoiding being prescriptive. In my opinion the ISO 26000 standard in its present form cannot be a certifiable standard as its 120 pages of potential criteria will be a certification auditors nightmare and thankfully the ISO committee has not indicated any intention of pursuing this option at present. Sentiments expressed by emerging economies such as India on the inclusion of labour practices as a core subject is being perceived as a competitive barrier to trade and in the case of China the use of human rights criteria as a potential indirect attack on its national sovereignty.
If recent events are any indication of potential future threats to governments and organisations, visionary political and business leaders will embrace the principles of the ISO 26000 standard to create new competitive models and produce products and services that not only sustains growth but contributes to the development of a socially responsible society.
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