Iso 26000 Guidance On Social Responsibility

ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility Development Status, June 2009 An Indus try V iew

Ri sk o f F ailure David Fel in ski, Vice-President IFAN (International Federation of Standards Users) and IFAN Expert to ISO/TMB WG SR, and Gu ido Guert le r, ICC Observer to ISO/TMB WG SR

Available Slide Series • • • • • • •

The Project ISO 26000 Contents and Players Applicability Aspects ISO 26000 CD Vote by March 2009 Success Criteria Ri sk of Fa il ur e Tool: Check of Effectiveness The pre sen t subs et is the on e marke d in bold

Outline (1/2) ISO 26000 will contribute to a more intensive worldwide discussion of social responsibility and in that context, be considered a success. But it may not be the success an ISO STANDARD deserves. Therefore, these slides highlight several risks at a time when actions still could be taken to minimize them.    

Preface Two Key Statements Missing its “Key Market” Volume of Document

Outline (2/2)     

Relevance of ALL Core Subjects Governments’ Responsibility Governments may misuse ISO 26000 Certifiers may misuse ISO 26000 Business may misuse ISO 26000

Preface  

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Risks can be viewed differently These slides describe major risks as seen by the authors; there may be more To highlight them is intended to cause actions toward preventing their occurrence.

A co ncret e pr oposa l is ma de at the end

Two Key Statements n The greatest positive

effect of ISO 26000 is the promoti on of t he globa l de bate on matters of social responsibility • Ind ust ry is i n fa vor of an ISO guidance standard on social responsibility bu t it must be “good enoug h” for industry, which will become the main user group

Who will be the Main Users? Industry and Services = Business, 96% micro

up to 10

36% 60% small

up to 50

medium large employees

up to 250 more than 250

In industries, 98% are micro, small or medium organizations

Missing its “Key Market” (1/2) 

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ISO/TMB WG SR did not perform a user survey in order to get the „primary user input“ into the draft guidance standard An IISD Study “How material is ISO 26000 … to SMEs?” of September 2008 is available at http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2008/how_material_iso_260 A “Quick User Survey” is available at http://www.26k-estimation.com/html/quick_user_sur

Missing its “Key Market” (2/2) 

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Both the II SD Study and the Quic k User Survey show limits to the applicability and usefulness of ISO 26000 to small and medium organizations The ISO 26000 draft does not seem to reflect this feed bac k fro m re ali ty ISO 26000 may risk failing because “direct views” of possible users have not been taken into account

Volume of Document 

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Micro and small organizations, in general, will not study 100+ pages in order to check for useful and applicable items… …and in particular, not in the least if they don’t conduct any trans-border activities… …and all the more, not so if their activities have no interaction with developing countries The 100+ pages have been repeatedly criticized since 12/2006

ISO 26000 may risk failing because the document is too voluminous for most of its potential users

Relevance of ALL Core Subjects to ALL Organizations (1/3) While the SCOPE of ISO 26000 states: “This International Standard provides guidance to all types of organizations, regardless of their size or location, on:… ….and while the logic of ISO 26000 is that ALL core subjects are relevant to ALL organizations …

Relevance of ALL Core Subjects to ALL Organizations (2/3) …this is flatly refuted, particularly by SMOs Some examples of non-relevance:  Micro organizations vs. “Community Involvement”  Locally operating SMO vs. “Fair Operating Practices”

Relevance of ALL Core Subjects to ALL Organizations (3/3)  Capital goods manufacturers vs. „Consumer Issues“  SMO in highly regulated countries vs. „Human Rights“ and „Labour Practices“  …and many more…

ISO 26000 may risk failing because ALL core subjects being relevant to ALL organizations is not realistic

Governments’ Responsibility (1/4) 

Prot ec ti on of i ts citi ze ns is the core obligation of government (life, health, property, …)

 Industries can neither take this obligation, nor substitute government action

Governments’ Responsibility (2/4) 

It is governments’ social responsibility to set the l ega l fr amew ork under which private society related actions can develop

Governments’ Responsibility (3/4) 

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Fir st governments need to care for their constitution, laws and regulations, and the enforcement of same Then industries can act effectively and sustainably

Governments’ Responsibility (4/4) 

But ISO 26000 creates an expectation as if the private sector could improve social deficits by itself, wit ho ut pre ceding and acc ompany ing gov ernme nt act ion

ISO 26000 may risk failing because this expectation on the private sector is not realistic

Governments may Misuse ISO 26000 The DIS will express: "This International Standard is not a management system standard. It is not intended or appropriate for certification purposes or reg ula to ry or contractual use . Any offers to certify, or claims to be certified, to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose of the International Standard."

ISO 26000 may risk failing because government may mistakenly use it for procurement purposes

Certifiers may Misuse ISO 26000 The DIS will express: "This International Standard is not a management system standard. It is not in ten ded or ap pro priat e for cert ificat io n purp ose s or regulatory or contractual use. Any offers to certify, or claims to be certified, to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose of the International Standard."

ISO 26000 may risk failing because certifiers may ignore this unambiguous purpose description

Industry may Misuse ISO 26000 The DIS will express: "This International Standard is not a management system standard. It is not intended or appropriate for certification purposes or regulatory or co ntra ctu al use . Any offers to certify, or claims to be certified, to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose of the International Standard."

ISO 26000 may risk failing because some business organizations may mistakenly use it in contracts

Request of ISO’s Action (1/3) ISO 26000 is a GUIDANCE STANDARD, offering guidance, advice and recommendations This t ype of Docume nt is new , and not as commonly known as other ISO „products“ That gives ISO the chance to address the „education“ of users and jus ti fi es „aft erpu bl ica ti on a cti ons “ orga ni zed by ISO

Request of ISO’s Action (2/3) Ra tio nal e :  ISO 26000 is a relatively new type of deliverable  The le ss it is unde rstoo d , the great er the potential for (mostly) unintended mis us e

Request of ISO’s Action (3/3) 

The fi rs t cas es of misuse have already take n pl ac e wit ho ut the do cument even being publi shed , see

http://www.26k-estimation.com/html/misuse_of_iso_26000.ht 

Mor e cases to come…

How to Manage the Risks? (1/5) Building on the good work of WG SR Task Group 2 on „Communications“, which may be disbanded after the ISO 26000 publication, ISO should set up a permanent unit called “ISO 260 00 Us er Pl at fo rm ” ISO normally does not care about the use of its standards, but here it is recommended in view of the valu e of the ISO 2600 0 co nte nt and its glo bal at ten tion .

How to Manage the Risks? (2/5) The ISO 260 00 U ser Pla tfo rm would address: 2. Taking measures to prevent the risks* 3. Clarifying any doubts or interpretations 4. Giving advice on concrete cases of use 5. Helping avoid cases of misuse 6. Running a website “pool of experiences” * More details on the next slides

How to Manage the Risks? (3/5) 1 2

3

ISO 26000 may risk failing because… … “direct views” of possible users have not been taken into account … the document is too voluminous for the large majority of its potential users … because ALL core subjects being relevant to ALL organizations is not realistic

Proposed way forward Perform a user survey under the auspicesthe of ISO Redraft document down to some 40 pages max. or write an “ISO 26000 User Modify this claim Guide” by leaving the decision of relevance to the organization’s

How to Manage the Risks? (4/5) 4

5

ISO 26000 may risk failing because… … this expectation of private sector action without preceding and accompanying government action is not realistic … because government may mistakenly use it for procurement purposes

Proposed way forward Include guidance on governments’ social responsibility more explicitly into the ISO 26000 Awareness and education; explain examples on the dedicated ISO website

How to Manage the Risks? (5/5)

6

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ISO 26000 may risk failing because… … because certifiers may ignore this unambiguous description of purpose … because some industry organizations may mistakenly use it in contracts

Proposed way forward Awareness and education; explain examples on the dedicated ISO Awareness and website education; explain examples on the dedicated ISO website

In the end… …it is all in ISO‘s hands ..unless users feel the need to develop „their“ ISO 26000 User Guide(s), But that is not a preferred option. Thank You for yo ur Co nside rat io n!