Results of the 2010-11 ISO User Survey are reported in the current issue (December, 2011) of ISO Focus+. The survey was coordinated by TC 176, subcommittee SC2 and had 11,722 respondents from around the world. The full survey can be downloaded from the ISO website. Some of the findings that caught my attention follow.
Factors influencing certification. The three largest drivers that influence the decision to pursue certification are: customer satisfaction (4,222); market need (3,689); and, mandated customer requirements (3,290). These findings are consistent with what I have been seeing with my clients, in particular customer mandated requirements for integrated EHS management systems.
Important benefits of applying ISO 9001 in an organization. Customer satisfaction was the top response (5,886) as would be expected with 9001. Of interest is that many of the top responses also point to value with business process improvements, including: standard business process (5,821); increased management commitment (4,125); and more effective management reviews (3,975).
The 
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.”