Overview

Guidance on social responsibility covering seven core subjects and seven principles; explicitly not a management system standard and not intended for certification

ISO 26000:2010 provides guidance on social responsibility for all types of organization, regardless of size, activity or location. It was developed through an unusually broad multi-stakeholder process involving experts from industry, government, labour, consumer groups, NGOs and service/support/research organizations, and remains the current edition following systematic review.

The standard is emphatic about what it is not. ISO 26000 is not a management system standard, contains no requirements, and is not intended or appropriate for certification purposes or for regulatory or contractual use. Any offer of "ISO 26000 certification" misrepresents the document. Organizations use it as a reference for defining, integrating and improving socially responsible behaviour, and often reference it in sustainability reporting alongside frameworks such as GRI, the UN Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

ISO 26000 sets out seven principles of social responsibility: accountability, transparency, ethical behaviour, respect for stakeholder interests, respect for the rule of law, respect for international norms of behaviour, and respect for human rights.

It then addresses seven core subjects, each broken down into specific issues with expectations and related actions: organizational governance; human rights; labour practices; the environment; fair operating practices; consumer issues; and community involvement and development. Organizational governance is treated as the subject through which an organization acts on all the others.

Two further concepts do much of the practical work. Stakeholder identification and engagement is presented as central to determining what social responsibility means for a particular organization. Sphere of influence and due diligence extend consideration beyond the organization's own operations to its value chain and its relationships, in a way that anticipates modern supply chain due diligence legislation.

Clause 7 covers integration: understanding the organization's characteristics, raising awareness and building competency, setting direction, communicating on social responsibility, enhancing credibility, reviewing progress and performance, and evaluating voluntary initiatives. Annex A catalogues examples of voluntary initiatives and tools for social responsibility.

ISO 26000 sits alongside certifiable standards rather than competing with them: ISO 37001 (anti-bribery), ISO 37301 (compliance), ISO 14001 (environment), ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety), ISO 20400 (sustainable procurement, itself guidance) and ISO 30415 (diversity and inclusion) each address in requirement or guidance form topics that ISO 26000 frames at the level of principles.

Purpose

To provide organizations of every type with common guidance on the concepts, principles, core subjects and practices of social responsibility, and on how to integrate socially responsible behaviour into their governance, decisions and value chains.

Key Benefits

• Gives an internationally agreed vocabulary and structure for social responsibility
• Covers governance, human rights, labour, environment, fair operating practices, consumers and community in one document
• Grounded in a multi-stakeholder consensus rather than a single industry or NGO perspective
• Provides a practical method for identifying and engaging stakeholders and determining material issues
• Extends thinking to the value chain and sphere of influence, aligning with supply chain due diligence expectations
• Serves as a reference framework for sustainability and non-financial reporting
• Applicable to public bodies, NGOs and SMEs, not just large corporations
• Compatible with certifiable standards such as ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 37001 and ISO 37301
• Helps organizations evaluate the many voluntary social responsibility initiatives and tools that exist
• Free of certification cost and audit overhead, since it is guidance

Key Requirements

• Note: ISO 26000 contains no requirements — it is guidance, and cannot be certified against
• Apply the seven principles: accountability, transparency, ethical behaviour, respect for stakeholder interests, respect for the rule of law, respect for international norms of behaviour, and respect for human rights
• Recognise social responsibility and identify the organization's impacts, interests and expectations
• Identify stakeholders and engage with them meaningfully
• Address the core subject of organizational governance as the means of acting on the other core subjects
• Consider human rights issues, including due diligence, complicity, grievance resolution, discrimination and civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights
• Consider labour practices, including employment relationships, conditions of work, social dialogue, health and safety, and development and training
• Consider environmental issues, including pollution prevention, sustainable resource use, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and protection of biodiversity
• Consider fair operating practices, including anti-corruption, responsible political involvement, fair competition, responsibility in the value chain and respect for property rights
• Consider consumer issues, including fair marketing, protection of health and safety, sustainable consumption, data protection and access to essential services
• Consider community involvement and development, including education, employment creation, technology development and social investment
• Determine relevance and significance of issues and set priorities for action
• Integrate social responsibility into policies, culture, strategies and operations
• Communicate on social responsibility, enhance credibility, and review and improve performance

Who Needs This Standard?

Any organization seeking a credible reference for social responsibility — companies building or maturing a sustainability programme, public sector and non-profit bodies, procurement teams setting supplier expectations, and reporting teams aligning disclosures with an internationally agreed framework.

Related Standards