The ISO 26000 International Standard is soon to be published, which provides guidance on social responsibility. As such, it is likely to become an ideal reference point for HR when formulating corporate CSR best practices.
The ISO 26000 document which is due to become a fully fledged ISO International Standard in November 2010, takes into account nearly 2,500 written comments received prior to the Copenhagen meeting. It is aimed as a guidance standard, rather than a specification document intended for third party certification and ISO Secretary-General, Rob Steele, underlined the value of the broad stakeholder input that has gone into developing ISO 26000. This input has also included significant input by developing countries. Steele explained, “One of the key arguments that resulted in the recommendation to proceed with the development of ISO 26000 was that such a broad subject would benefit from the widest participation possible and that using the ISO standards development process would maximise this involvement. One of the key groups advocating this argument was developing countries, and the point resonated with everyone.”
The multi-stakeholder ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility included experts and observers from 99 ISO member countries and 42 public and private sector organisations, who approved the draft ISO 26000 for processing as a Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) at its eighth plenary meeting in earlier this year in Copenhagen, Denmark. Jorge Cajazeira, Chair of the working group summarised, “ISO 26000 will provide organisations in both public and private sectors with a new paradigm for helping them operate in the socially responsible way that society now expects. It will assist them in achieving long-term economic benefits with minimal social costs and minimal harmful impacts on the environment.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
