Corporate responsibility specialists will gather in Australia at the
end of this month to examine the second draft of a global standard on
CSR.
The latest version of the standard – known as ISO 26000 – largely sets
out principles and advice on what organizations should do to make
themselves more socially responsible.
Running to 75 pages, it contains sections on issues such as how to
carry out stakeholder engagement, develop objectives and strategies,
set targets, review performance, and how to communicate corporate
responsibility issues.
Produced by a technical working group of the International Organization
for Standardization, it is intended not as a mechanism for
certification but instead as a practical guide.
However, some of those close to the process privately say that after
publication, which will probably be in early 2009, they expect a full
certification standard may eventually develop from it.
This month’s five-day meeting of the ISO Working Group on Social
Responsibility in Sydney should bring the document much closer to its
final form.
