ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility
www.iso.org

Introduction
“Social responsibility is becoming one of the important influences on an organization’s performance…The perception of an organization’s social responsibility performance may influence:

– the general reputation of the organization;
– its ability to attract and retain workers and/or members, but also customers, clients or users;
– the maintenance of employee’s morale and productivity;
– the view of investors, donors, sponsors and the financial community; and
– its relationship with government, the media, suppliers, peers, customers, and the community in which it operates.”

Definition of Social Responsibility
“Responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through transparent and ethical behavior that
– contributes to sustainable development, health and the welfare of society;
– takes into account the expectations of stakeholders;
– is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behavior; and
– is integrated thorough out the organization and practiced in its relationships.”

4 Principles of Social Responsibility
4.2 Accountability (an organization should be accountable for its impacts on society and the environment)
4.3 Transparency (an organization should be transparent in its decisions and activities that impact on others)
4.4 Ethical behavior (an organization should behave ethically at all times)
4.5 Stakeholder (an organization should respect and consider the interests of its stakeholders)
4.6 Rule of law (an organization should respect the rule of law)
4.7 International norms (an organization should respect relevant international norms where these norms are more favorable to sustainable development and the welfare of society)
4.8 Human rights (an organization should recognize both the importance and the universality of human rights)

4.4 Ethical Behavior “The ethical behavior principle states that: an organization should behave ethically at all times.
The behavior of organizations should reflect recognized ethical principles or rules of duty. An organization’s behavior should be based on principles or rules concerning integrity, honesty, equity, stewardship, and integrity. From these ethics flow a concern for others and the environment, and a commitment to address stakeholders’ interests.
An organization should adopt and apply standards of ethical behavior appropriate to its purpose and activities. Organizations should develop governance structures that help to promote ethical conduct within the organization and in its interactions with others.
Organizations should actively promote ethical conduct by:
– encouraging and promoting the observance of standards of ethical behavior [Ethics Awareness];
– defining and communicating the standards of ethical behavior required for personnel and particularly for those that have the opportunity to significantly influence the values, culture, integrity, strategy and operation of the organization [Ethics Code and Ethics Training];
– minimizing conflicts of interest throughout the organization;
– establishing oversight mechanisms and controls to monitor and enforce the ethical behavior;
– establishing mechanisms to facilitate the reporting of ethical standards without fear of reprisal [Ethics Hotline]; and
– recognizing and addressing situations where local laws and regulations do not exist or conflict with ethical behavior.”

6. Guidance on Social Responsibility Core Subjects
6.1 General “To define the scope of its social responsibility, identify the relevant issues and to set up its priorities an organization should address the following core subjects:
– organizational governance;
– human rights [UN Declaration of Human Rights, 1948,
www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml];
– labor practices [UN/International Labor Organization Standards, www.ilo.org];
[SA8000 by Social Accountability International (SAI, www.sa-intl.org) is “an international standard for improving working conditions based on the ILO standards and UN Human Rights conventions.” Organizations can be certified to conform to the voluntary standard.] – the environment;
– fair operating practices;
– consumer issues; and
– community involvement and development.”

(text from Working Draft 4.2, 2008-06-02)