ISO 26000

 ASSIGNMENT #2 ON ISO 26000 Corporate Social Responsibility  – Claude Lloyd

International Business Management Anthony Perutty Johnson 3/12/2013

ISO 26000 –  SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

INTRODUCTION:

http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/iso26000.htm http://oecdwatch.org/publications-en/Publication_3522/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/csr/2012/02/21/six-reasons-companies-should-embrace-csr/ st

The International Organization of Standards released ISO 26000 on 1   November 2010. This Standard of the ISO helps the businesses to perform in a social responsible way without affecting the society, environment and production. Working in a very ethical manner would help contribute to the welfare and also the health of the society where the business performs and also achieve the Triple Bottom Lining (Social, Environmental and Economical). ISO standards have certain requirements that need to be fulfilled, unlike the ISO 26000 where there are no requirements, but guidelines regardless of their location and size of the business which need to be followed. This makes ISO 26000 not certifiable like the other standards. ISO 26000 is a document which has specific guidelines, recommendations and orientation  processes. The standard consists of 7 core subjects: 

The organizational governance.

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Human rights.

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Labour practices.

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The environment.

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Fair operating practices.

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Consumer issues.

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Community involvement and development.

It also covers 37 issues under each core subjects, which are relevant to all the organizations regardless of their size and location.

ISO 26000 gives guidelines to organizations on: 

The concepts, definitions, etc related to business ethics and sustainability.

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The trends and practice related to achieve sustainability.

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Identification and engagement with stakeholders.

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Communication and other necessary information relating to sustainability.

An organization‟s commitment to the society in which it functions and to its contact on the environment has now become a serious and important part of measuring its general  performance. ISO 26000 is a reflection of the rising appreciation of the wants to make sure that the ecosystems are healthy; there is social justness and also good and effective organizational control. In the long term run, all the corporate actions depend on the wellbeing of the world‟s ecosystem. The corporate are subjected to better testing by their stakeholders.

ISO 26000, starting out to be a huge topic now days, as businesses are trying to achieve the triple  bottom line (People, Planet and Profit „OR‟ Social. Environment and Economy) have much opposition and supporting to it: 

People say that once the ISO 26000 comes in power, many developed countries would  pass domestic legislation legally in making it mandatory for every multinational company wishing t do business in that particular country to maintain standards of ISO 26000. This could increase the cost of business and trade around the world.

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Many NGO‟s in countries are planning to launch campaign‟s to shame any organization in the country/state that has not the standards of ISO 26000.

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Government regulations are establishing these “ISO 26000 certification programs” even when there is nothing mandatory with ISO 26000.

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Some say that ISO 26000 is just another way of doing business where, the market is supreme and the primary concern of living wage remains in nothingness.

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The ISO 26000 document/guidelines can be changed as per the requirements and situations. So, companies need to pay for the updates and subscriptions.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF ISO 26000:

http://www.26k-estimation.com/html/strengths___weaknesses_of_iso_.html http://greeneconomypost.com/iso-26000-csr-11928.htm http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/iso-26000-social-impact-sustainability ISO 26000, opposed and supported a lot has its own strengths and weaknesses –  Strengths:

It attempts to include all type of organizations, no t only the industries: ISO 26000 not only includes the industries, which are to be considered as the main cause of negative social responsibility (mainly causing external damages) but also all the organizations regardless of their size. It covers the business as a whole and helps it get better in the global scenario by setting up standards that could help the businesses carry on activities ethically and also have a competitive advantage.

It concentrates on the 7 core subjects which are to be considered important at the international level The core subjects that are addressed in ISO 26000 are that drive the business in the current scenario. They all play major roles in getting a business global. An organization that pays attention to all the subjects has a definite competitive advantage and easy access to other countries and also an investor magnet. It also provides detailed description of the 37 issues, of what has to be done correctly in achieving the triple bottom line of contributing to the society, environment and the economy.

ISO 26000 can be a good tool for stakeholders: ISO 26000 can be a good tool for the stakeholders because if a company who is following the guidelines of ISO 26000 and participating towards sustainability and social responsibility can attract more investors to invest in. The stakeholders are those who all get affected by what the company does. So, if a company is following the guidelines and working towards a better SR would attract more stakeholders and may increase reputation within the existing stakeholders. Social responsibility now a day is a hugely debated topic and if a company makes it to a sustainability index, such as Dow Jones, it gets a competitive edge compared to the other companies.

ISO 26000 good for fresh businesses starting Social Responsibility: Any company who has not yet started contributing to SR and also fresh businesses can be  benefited by ISO 26000 as it provides them the major guidelines so as to how contribute to the society, environment and the economy. By starting to follow ISO 26000 and getting yourself in a sustainability index, such as Dow Jones Index will prove to be profitable in the field of competition and growth. Investors would invest more in a company who is in DJSI (Dow Jones Sustainability Index) than in a company who is not.

ISO 26000 is good for cross-border discussions: This standard can act as a great tool, when it comes to cross-border discussions. It can be marketing, global business, etc. Companies following the guidelines and implementing the recommendations of the standard may find it easier doing business globally and may also find contacts regard business. ISO 26000 can also be used in marketing a product or a business just  because it is socially responsible.

Weakness:

Complexity of the document: One of the weaknesses of ISO 26000 was regarding the complexity of the context and the document itself. The whole document is of 100 pages which is a lot even though it defines each core subject and issues and it must be bought through payment, unlike other documents which are available for free. The language used in the document is not simple enough but rugged and sloppy at places and also sentences that tend to have no meaning at all. It is just a mere book with a teaching style and mentioning different clauses. The same ISO 26000 document is available for different prices such as 59 Euros and 190 Euros. It‟s just the sources that vary but none is illegal. It focuses mainly on the internal operations of the organization: ISO 26000 mainly focuses on the guidelines that need to be followed in the organization rather than explaining the areas that need to be covered outside the organization that directly affects the environment and society. It really does not talk about how to contribute to the society and what all have to be done to protect the environment, so that companies that are trying to achieve triple  bottom lining can have a clear view of what it is to be done inside the organization and what all have to looked out for when doing operations outside the organizations. Certification: One more major weakness of ISO 26000 is that it is not „certifiable‟ like other ISO standard which makes it not mandatory for organizations. Some companies who don‟t find social responsibility as a big deal would not look into the standard. ISO is something which is kind of intangible, it‟s all in how the organization functions and the result can be felt in the way it  performs towards social responsibility.

Inclusion of micro organizations: ISO 26000 sets guidelines for businesses regardless the size which also includes micro organizations that have workforce less than 10 people. Implying to ISO 26000 needs a good and expertise management with funds that needs to be put in. To maintain the guidelines of ISO 26000 is expensive. Micro organizations (for example grocery stores) do not have much capital and management to carry out the guidelines of the standard for a long term.

ISO 26000 ROLES IN ACHIEVING TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE:

Triple bottom line refers to the three pillars of measuring the organizational success. The three  pillars are People, Profit and Planet or Social, Economical and Environmental. Businesses in the current era give much importance to society and the environment in order to gain economical and competitive advantage and ISO 26000 helps them achieve the desired.

Environmental Protection and Resource Conservation

Social WellBeing andEquity

Economic Prosperity and Continuty

SUSTAINABILITY TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE Fig1.1 Triple Bottom Line/Sustainability

Businesses achieving triple bottom lining can form an initial base through ISO 26000 by following its various guidelines. The standard will help business put together international  proficiency on social responsibility, it will help businesses implement intentions into actions ultimately helping them create stronger and more lasting partnerships with investors, suppliers, customer, community members and workers. ISO 26000 can help in reporting on the business contributions and strengths and also alert blind spots or problem areas which were prior not considered important. Stakeholders are a major area when it comes to social responsibility, with them the standard will help gather important data. Companies must adhere to the guidelines laid by ISO 26000 in order to meet the best practices  by properly auditing themselves. The companies who are about to start their journey in social responsibility and achieving triple  bottom line, ISO 26000 guidelines will prove being a good foundation and base. Once following the guideline/recommendations and contributing to social responsibility, businesses would attract investors and would create reputation among the stakeholders. Businesses can also be in sustainability indexes such as Dow Jones which will also give them a competitive edge and also help them being involve in cross-border discussions, making them participate in global business and widening their reach in the global business environment ultimately helping them achieve triple bottom lining. Green Supply Chain can be considered as an important part of social responsibility. It is the area where cost can be d ecreased and efficiency increased. Different businesses tend to follow ISO 26000 in different ways and prospects. Nature and size of the business is also a factor in where the large businesses have the funds and materials to implement the standard guidelines and follow-up. Whereas, small businesses do not have much resources to implement and follow-up. ISO 26000 has vast value in contributing a holistic reference viewpoint for those at the initial stages of a strategic approa ch to a good SR operation.

REFERENCE LINKS:

http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/iso26000.htm http://oecdwatch.org/publications-en/Publication_3522/ http://www.26k-estimation.com/html/strengths___weaknesses_of_iso_.html http://greeneconomypost.com/iso-26000-csr-11928.htm http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/iso-26000-social-impact-sustainability http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/management_standards/iso26000 http://www.iso.org/iso/discovering_iso_26000.pdf  http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_26000_project_overview.pdf  http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/05/corporate-social-responsibility-standards-iso26000-bad-for-business http://www.henriques.info/downloads/Sphere%20of%20Influence%20%20Ruggie%20analysis.pdf  http://www.forbes.com/sites/csr/2012/02/21/six-reasons-companies-should-embrace-csr/