ISO 26000
What is ISO 26000? ISO 26000 International guidance document on social responsibility
ISO 26000 is an international guidance document on social responsibility. It provides an organization with an outline of the principles and core subjects that it should be managing to ensure it identifies and manages a number of societal risks and impacts.
The guidance covers a number of core subject areas including:
- Organizational Governance
- Human Rights
- Labor Practices
- Environment
- Fair Operating Practices
- Consumer issues
- Community involvement and development
Who is ISO 26000 applicable to?
Every organization is encouraged to become more socially responsible by using this standard.
It is intended to be useful to all types of organizations:
- In the private, public and non-profit sectors,
- Whether large or small,
- Whether operating in developed or developing countries,
- For those beginning to address Social Responsibility (SR), as well as those more experienced with its implementation.
What are the benefits of ISO 26000?
ISO 26000 can help an organization identify strengths and weaknesses in how it manages a number of social responsibility areas. This can help significantly with compliance in a number of areas, including human rights and employment legislation and guidance, as well as the more commonly understood areas of environment and health and safety.
There are numerous benefits associated with an ISO 26000:
- Improvement in establishing compliance with legislative and other requirements by providing a systematic approach for meeting current and identifying future legislation
- Helps you demonstrate corporate social responsibility and that you are fulfilling policy commitments
- Competitive edge over businesses when invited to tender
- Improved awareness and management of sustainability risks
- Shares common areas with ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, for example, enabling integration into your management systems
- Improved awareness and knowledge means improved business decisions
- Improved business decisions drive continual improvement, better use of resources and help reduce costs
- Benchmarking against competitors helps drive improvement.
