Corporate Social Review Magazine 1st Quarter 2012 | Page 47

Social responsibility is about understanding and responding to the expectations of the organization’s
different stakeholders, and about respecting global
standards on such issues as human rights, health,
the environment and labour, with the ultimate aim of
making a positive contribution to sustainable development. Ultimately, it’s about improving an organization’s understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with operating in an increasingly globalised
world, and that affect all organizations regardless of
their size, sector or location.

What guidance does the standard
provide?
ISO 26000 is intended to assist all types of organization – regardless of their size, activity or location – to
operate in a socially responsible manner by providing
guidance on the following issues:
• concepts, terms and definitions relating to social
responsibility;
• the background, trends and characteristics of social responsibility;
• rinciples and practices relating to social responsibility;
• the core subjects & issues of social responsibility;
• integrating, implementing and promoting socially
responsible behaviour throughout the organization
and, through its policies and practices, within its
sphere of influence;
• identifying and engaging with stakeholders; and
• communicating commitments, performance and
other information related to social responsibility.

to the way in which a socially responsible organization should behave. These actions and expectations
are based on the provisions of authoritative international instruments, and seen to reflect the fundamental expectations of socially responsible behaviour for
all organisations no matter where they operate.
The guidance standard also includes an Annex that
contains a non-exhaustive list of voluntary initiatives
and tools for social responsibility. The aim of this annex is to provide examples of existing initiatives and
tools that may offer additional guidance on the core
subjects and integration practices of social responsibility.
ISO 26000 is seen to have particular relevance to
South African organisations: the definition of social
responsibility provided in the King Code of Governance for South Africa (King III) quotes directly from
the ISO 26000 definition, and the standard provides
clear guidance on the “international norms of behaviour” referred to in the King III definition. Although the
standard is non-binding, and is intended to provide
guidance only, it is hoped that it will help to raise the
bar for organisations seeking to promote sustainable
development.
Jonathon Hanks, Director of Incite Sustainability
(www.incite.co.za), was the convenor of the international drafting team and managed the multi-stakeholder negotiations on the text of ISO 26000. He is
a member of the working group to the South African
Integrated Reporting Committee (IRC), as well as a
member of an Advisory Group of the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC).

Arguably the most important part of the standard relates to the detailed guidance that it provides on the
identified seven core subjects of social responsibility: human rights, organisational governance, labour
practices, the environment, consumer issues, fair
operating practices, and community involvement and
development. These core subjects (outlined in Clause
6 of the standard) are seen to cover the most likely economic, environmental and social impacts that
should be addressed by organizations.
Each of these core subjects includes a set of subject-specific issues that an organization should take
into account when identifying its social responsibility.
Every core subject, but not necessarily each issue, is
seen to have some relevance for every organization.
In considering its social responsibility, an organization should identify each issue that is relevant to its
decisions and activities. The guidance on each issue
includes a number of actions that an organization
should take and identifies core expectations relating
Chris Kirchoff, MediaClubSouthAfrica.com

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CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW