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Work on an international standard on social responsibility is progressing well,
but the large number of interested parties involved remains a concern
What is an ISO standard?
ISO standards set out best practice in various fields, from specifications for bicycle tyres to the layouts of offices. They are created and overseen by the International Organization of Standardization, a federation of national standards bodies from 158 countries, but their use is entirely voluntary. The ISO, through external auditors, will certify a company against any of its standards.
What’s the point of complying with an ISO standard?
Many businesses find that going through the process of getting certification to an ISO standard helps them improve their working practices and management. To that extent they are mainly a tool to improve performance, but there are also reputational benefits to certification: ISO standards are widely respected.
What about the new CSR standard?
It’s been christened ISO 26000 and has been under full development since 2004. But it’s not technically a corporate social responsibility standard; it will apply to all types of organizations, including non-governmental organizations,
trade unions and government departments.
When will it be ready for use?
The latest, revised, estimate is that it will be finalized in late 2009, but there may slippage on that. ISO procedures are not quick: a social responsibility standard was first proposed within ISO back in 2001, and was given the go-ahead in 2002.
Can organizations be certified to the standard?
No. A nebulous field such as social responsibility is unusual territory for the ISO, which usually covers more technical topics. In recognition of this, ISO 26000 is being developed as a ‘guidance standard’ rather than a full-blown certification standard. This means it will only set out principles and offer advice to organizations. However, sources close to the process privately say that after publication a full certification standard may eventually appear.
Who is drawing it up?
Drafts are being prepared by an ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility, which was set up in 2004. The working group is made up of experts nominated by interested national standards bodies. Representation is pretty equally divided between business, NGOs, unions, governments and consumer organizations, but as a result the working group is enormous: it currently has 355 expert members from 72 countries, not to mention 77 observers. In addition to the working group there are ‘mirror committees’ in many countries with similar breakdowns of representation. Their job is to feed in their views on the various drafts, while the working group thrashes matters out at regular plenary meetings. There have been four plenaries so far; the last, in Australia four months ago, lasted five days. The next is in November in Vienna.
Why so many representatives?
The ISO is keen to make sure the standard is devised with maximum input from developing countries and as many stakeholder groups as possible.
Has ISO 26000 got much support?
There appears to be a consensus that it’s a ‘good thing’ and so far it has the backing of all parties. But there are concerns about the unwieldy drafting process. The Dutch CSR Platform, a coalition of more than 35 NGOs and trade unions, has warned that the approach being taken ‘is very participatory, but could also paralyse the process’. There is plenty of potential for disagreement between civil society and business, and there have already been some tensions in the plenaries over whether to use ‘management system language’, which would give ISO 26000 the flavour of a full certification standard. NGOs favour this, but businesses don’t.
What does the standard look like?
It’s still a long way from completion, but the 75-page second draft has eight chapters, with three of them setting out social responsibility principles relevant to all organizations and offering guidance on implementation. The other chapters largely concern themselves with definitions, general background, and references to relevant International Labour Organisation, UN and OECD guidelines. Chapter six, which sets out core guidance on social, environmental and ethical issues, is likely to be the hardest to complete, and the working group has now set up four drafting teams for chapter six to develop material in areas such as labour standards, community involvement, the environment, human rights, and stakeholder engagement.
Where do we go from here?
After the third working draft has appeared, national standards bodies will have formal voting power to approve or reject the content of the drafts. At that point, the consensus will be tested.
but the large number of interested parties involved remains a concern
What is an ISO standard?
ISO standards set out best practice in various fields, from specifications for bicycle tyres to the layouts of offices. They are created and overseen by the International Organization of Standardization, a federation of national standards bodies from 158 countries, but their use is entirely voluntary. The ISO, through external auditors, will certify a company against any of its standards.
What’s the point of complying with an ISO standard?
Many businesses find that going through the process of getting certification to an ISO standard helps them improve their working practices and management. To that extent they are mainly a tool to improve performance, but there are also reputational benefits to certification: ISO standards are widely respected.
What about the new CSR standard?
It’s been christened ISO 26000 and has been under full development since 2004. But it’s not technically a corporate social responsibility standard; it will apply to all types of organizations, including non-governmental organizations,
trade unions and government departments.
When will it be ready for use?
The latest, revised, estimate is that it will be finalized in late 2009, but there may slippage on that. ISO procedures are not quick: a social responsibility standard was first proposed within ISO back in 2001, and was given the go-ahead in 2002.
Can organizations be certified to the standard?
No. A nebulous field such as social responsibility is unusual territory for the ISO, which usually covers more technical topics. In recognition of this, ISO 26000 is being developed as a ‘guidance standard’ rather than a full-blown certification standard. This means it will only set out principles and offer advice to organizations. However, sources close to the process privately say that after publication a full certification standard may eventually appear.
Who is drawing it up?
Drafts are being prepared by an ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility, which was set up in 2004. The working group is made up of experts nominated by interested national standards bodies. Representation is pretty equally divided between business, NGOs, unions, governments and consumer organizations, but as a result the working group is enormous: it currently has 355 expert members from 72 countries, not to mention 77 observers. In addition to the working group there are ‘mirror committees’ in many countries with similar breakdowns of representation. Their job is to feed in their views on the various drafts, while the working group thrashes matters out at regular plenary meetings. There have been four plenaries so far; the last, in Australia four months ago, lasted five days. The next is in November in Vienna.
Why so many representatives?
The ISO is keen to make sure the standard is devised with maximum input from developing countries and as many stakeholder groups as possible.
Has ISO 26000 got much support?
There appears to be a consensus that it’s a ‘good thing’ and so far it has the backing of all parties. But there are concerns about the unwieldy drafting process. The Dutch CSR Platform, a coalition of more than 35 NGOs and trade unions, has warned that the approach being taken ‘is very participatory, but could also paralyse the process’. There is plenty of potential for disagreement between civil society and business, and there have already been some tensions in the plenaries over whether to use ‘management system language’, which would give ISO 26000 the flavour of a full certification standard. NGOs favour this, but businesses don’t.
What does the standard look like?
It’s still a long way from completion, but the 75-page second draft has eight chapters, with three of them setting out social responsibility principles relevant to all organizations and offering guidance on implementation. The other chapters largely concern themselves with definitions, general background, and references to relevant International Labour Organisation, UN and OECD guidelines. Chapter six, which sets out core guidance on social, environmental and ethical issues, is likely to be the hardest to complete, and the working group has now set up four drafting teams for chapter six to develop material in areas such as labour standards, community involvement, the environment, human rights, and stakeholder engagement.
Where do we go from here?
After the third working draft has appeared, national standards bodies will have formal voting power to approve or reject the content of the drafts. At that point, the consensus will be tested.
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