The long-awaited ISO guidance standard on Social Responsibility has been completed and will be publicly available on November 1, 2010. ISO says, “ISO 26000 provides harmonized, globally relevant guidance for private and public sector organizations of all types based on international consensus among expert representatives of the main stakeholder groups and so encourage the implementation of best practice in social responsibility worldwide.”
While the ultimate impact of ISO 26000 is not known, it is anticipated that it will have impact throughout supply chains. Pekka Isosomppi of Nokia reported at the recent International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) conference in Rome that many large multi-national companies are already doing many, if not all, of the items recommended in ISO 26000. He indicated that what will be interesting to see is how different entities in supply chains, especially SMEs (small-to-medium) sized companies, respond. He echoed what many of us are observing—that is, supply chain activities cannot be ignored (e.g., Nike’s problem) and that ISO 26000 will help in evaluating supply chains. Read More
Understanding and crafting your supply chain is an integral part of a meaningful sustainability/CSR strategy. The inputs to your products and services play a huge role in defining them in this sustainability/CSR era. For instance, the amount of water used in producing a liter of soda, or the labor practices in harvesting cotton used in making a T-shirt have become significant issues for manufacturers of these products.