coffeeThe way is clear for publication by the end of the year, the International Standard ISO 26000, which provides guidelines on social responsibility.
The Working Group of ISO on social responsibility (ISO / WG SR) consists of multiple stakeholders including experts and observers from 99 countries members of ISO and 42 private sector organizations and public, has approved the progress of the draft standard ISO 26000 at the stage of Final Draft International Standard (DIS) at its 8th plenary meeting, held May 17, 2010 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
ISO/SR meetingMembers of the management team of the ISO / WG SR meeting in Copenhagen (from left to right): Kristina Sandberg, Secretary, Jorge RE Cajazeira, Chairman; Staffan Söderberg, Vice-President, Eduardo Campos de São Thiago , Joint Secretary, Sophie Clivio, Head of the Technical Program, ISO Central Secretariat. (Photo: Jorge E. R. Cajazeira)
The document is now being finalized to reflect the consensus reached at the Copenhagen meeting, after the counting of 2482 comments received in writing. The DIS is then circulated to member countries of ISO for a vote of two months from August to September. Publication as an International Standard ISO full is expected by November.
The management of the ISO / WG SR is provided by two members of the ISO: ABNT (ISO member for Brazil) and SIS (ISO member for Sweden). After the success of the Copenhagen meeting, the Chairman of ISO / WG SR, ER Cajazeira Jorge said: “ISO 26000 will provide public sector organizations and the private sector a new paradigm that will help them operate in the mode socially responsible society is demanding today. The standard will help them ensure their long-term economic interests with social costs and environmental impact minimized. ”
For the Vice-Chairman of ISO / WG SR, Staffan Söderberg: “After obtaining the consensus of the 100 pages we have experienced a great moment when 400 experts and observers stood in thunderous Clap. The work of the Working Group on Social Responsibility ISO resulted in an amazing result and it is time to benefit the market and all organizations in the world. ”
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the meeting, the Secretary General of ISO, Rob Steele, appreciation al’ISO / WG SR for their efforts since the group’s first meeting in 2005. The WG, which met eight times, has treated more than 25,000 comments.
Emphasizing the value of the contribution of multiple stakeholders who have worked on the development of ISO 26000, as well as the importance of the contribution of developing countries, he said: “One of major arguments that have promoted the development of ISO 26000 was that the magnitude of the subject would raise the widest participation possible and that the application development process of ISO standards would maximize participation . Developing countries were one of the key groups to defend this point of view, and the argument has focused. ”
As the Secretary General of ISO noted, ISO 26000 is a guidance document, which does not provide specifications for an approach to third-party certification, and ISO will ensure that this approach is respected . Steele also noted that the market expects the ISO 26000 standard, namely:
* A global agreement on definitions and principles of the RS
* A global agreement on core issues of the RS
* Recommendations on how to integrate RS in an organization or company.
The meeting was welcomed by Danish Standards, ISO member for Denmark and the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs, under which the Minister Brian Mikkelsen said: “By getting now broad support for the ‘globally on the meaning and practices of the RS, we marked a significant advance. Companies and organizations worldwide will share a common starting point for their activities in a socially responsible way. ”
* For more information on ISO 26000 and the working group of ISO on social responsibility, please refer to the website devoted to this theme at: www.iso.org / sr. You will find material on the genesis of the initiative of ISO SAR, documents and press releases on the progress and how they are completed, the composition and structure of WG SR, terms of participation in the development of ISO 26000, a newsletter, a calendar of steps, FAQs, contacts and other information, including some in several languages.