Overview
Many organizations face the challenge of effectively demonstrating to their stakeholders how they are operating their businesses in a responsible fashion.
ISO 26000 - Guidance on Social Responsibility provides guidance on how organizations can operate in a socially responsible way that contributes to sustainable development, including the health and welfare of society. The standard offers recommendations on how to structure, evaluate, and improve social responsibility, including stakeholder relationships and community impacts. ISO 26000 also provides organizations with a set of societal expectations of what constitutes responsible behaviour, based on authoritative international instruments and best practices.
CAN/CSA ISO 26000 is the Canadian-adopted version of the international standard and has been vetted by Canadian stakeholders and deemed appropriate for the Canadian marketplace. The adoption of ISO 26000 as a National Standard of Canada is an important milestone, indicating that Canadian social responsibility experts agree that the standard is appropriate and beneficial for use by organizations across Canada.
Highlights:
- Provides guidance to all types of organizations, regardless of their size or location, on areas such as concepts, definitions and core subjects of social responsibility
- Offers best practices around integrating, implementing and promoting socially responsible behaviour throughout an organization
- Designed to work in all organizational and cultural contexts and is flexible to suit organizations' specific policies and procedures
- Contributes to sustainable development by reducing harmful environmental, social and economic impacts
- Helps demonstrate a commitment to continual improvement
- Helps attract like-minded partners, investors, customers and staff
- Contributes to sustainable development by reducing harmful environmental, social and economic impacts
- Helps organizations identify new opportunities and manage and reduce risk
CSA Preface
This is the first edition of CAN/CSA-ISO 26000, Guidance on social responsibility, which is an adoption without modification of the identically titled ISO (International Organization for Standardization) Standard 26000 (first edition, 2010-11-01).
The ISO 26000 Standard was developed by social responsibility experts from around the world, under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Management Board (TMB) Working Group on Social Responsibility.
This Standard has been developed in compliance with Standards Council of Canada requirements for National Standards of Canada. It has been published as a National Standard of Canada by CSA Group.
Scope
This International Standard provides guidance to all types of organizations, regardless of their size or location, on:
a) concepts, terms and definitions related to social responsibility;
b) the background, trends and characteristics of social responsibility;
c) principles and practices relating to social responsibility;
d) the core subjects and issues of social responsibility;
e) integrating, implementing and promoting socially responsible behaviour throughout the organization and, through its policies and practices, within its sphere of influence;
f) identifying and engaging with stakeholders; and
g) communicating commitments, performance and other information related to social responsibility.
This International Standard is intended to assist organizations in contributing to sustainable development. It is intended to encourage them to go beyond legal compliance, recognizing that compliance with law is a fundamental duty of any organization and an essential part of their social responsibility. It is intended to promote common understanding in the field of social responsibility, and to complement other instruments and initiatives for social responsibility, not to replace them.
In applying this International Standard, it is advisable that an organization take into consideration societal, environmental, legal, cultural, political and organizational diversity, as well as differences in economic conditions, while being consistent with international norms of behaviour.
This International Standard is not a management system standard. It is not intended or appropriate for certification purposes or regulatory or contractual use. Any offer to certify, or claims to be certified, to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose and a misuse of this International Standard. As this International Standard does not contain requirements, any such certification would not be a demonstration of conformity with this International Standard.
This International Standard is intended to provide organizations with guidance concerning social responsibility and can be used as part of public policy activities. However, for the purposes of the Marrakech Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO), it is not intended to be interpreted as an international standard, guideline or recommendation, nor is it intended to provide a basis for any presumption or finding that a measure is consistent with WTO obligations. Further, it is not intended to provide a basis for legal actions, complaints, defences or other claims in any international, domestic or other proceeding, nor is it intended to be cited as evidence of the evolution of customary international law.
This International Standard is not intended to prevent the development of national standards that are more specific, more demanding, or of a different type.
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