ISO 26000 Guide | Socially Responsability

People familiar with ISO standards know that these standards positively contribute to solutions and benefits for almost all social sectors.

ISO 26000 background

In 2001, ISO studied the need to develop a standard of social responsibility. In 2004 a workgroup created ISO 26000 standard. This process has been so far the one with more participation, from six expert groups, interested parties, industry, workers, consumers, nongovernment organizations, service, support, investigation, and others.

In 2001, What’s ISO 26000?

ISO 26000 is an international standard providing a guide connecting social responsibility in an organization assisting organizations to support sustainable development. This standard is not a management system, neither certifiable. SA 8000 is the only certifiable standard by the International Social Accountability.

Social responsibility is defined by the commitment of an organization facing the consequences of decisions and activities upon the society and the environment through ethical and transparent behavior contributing to sustainable development, including the health and wellbeing of society.

This standard works together with other instruments and initiatives related to RS without replacing them: a guide for OCDE multinationals, Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact, among others.

ISO 2600 standard principles:

• Accountability.
• Transparency.
• Ethical Behavior.
• Respecting the interested party’s interests.
• Respecting legality.

ISO 26000 establishes 7 fundamental topics of social responsibility that an organization shall address like the following:

• Organization administration.
• Human rights.
• Work practices.
• Environment.
• Fair operating practices.
• Consumer matters.
• Active participation and community development.

ISO 26000 is a great tool for companies helping them to translate good intentions to actions, among other benefits, there’s the following: a greater competence, reputation, attract and retain employees, clients and users, stay motivated, commitment and productivity.

We are all part of this social responsibility chain, owners, managers, employees, and society; therefore, we are all responsible for its care. Policies and actions will be the letter of introduction to new generations who will have a good impression of the actions we did.