ISO 26000 in Practice A User Guide Michelle S. Bernhart and Francis J. “Sonny” Maher ASQ Quality Press Milwaukee, Wisconsin American Society for Quality, Quality Press, Milwaukee 53203 © 2011 by ASQ All rights reserved. Published 2011 Printed in the United States of America 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bernhart, Michelle. ISO 26000 in practice : a user guide / Michelle Bernhart and Sonny Maher. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-87389-812-6 (soft cover : alk. paper) 1. Social responsibility of business—Standards—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Maher, Sonny. II. Title. HD60.B47 2011 658.4'08—dc22 2010049701 ISBN: 978-0-87389-812-6 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Publisher: William A. Tony Acquisitions Editor: Matt T. Meinholz Project Editor: Paul O’Mara Production Administrator: Randall Benson ASQ Mission: The American Society for Quality advances individual, organizational, and community excellence worldwide through learning, quality improvement, and knowledge exchange. Attention Bookstores, Wholesalers, Schools, and Corporations: ASQ Quality Press books, video, audio, and software are available at quantity discounts with bulk purchases for business, educational, or instructional use. For information, please contact ASQ Quality Press at 800-248-1946, or write to ASQ Quality Press, P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005. To place orders or to request ASQ membership information, call 800-248-1946. Visit our Web site at http://www.asq.org/quality-press. Printed on acid-free paper Foreword T his is an important book. As we watch once trusted icons of strength and virtue succumb, one after another, to breakdowns in internal gov- ernance and to implausible but real failures to address clear respon- sibilities, ISO 26000 could not have come at a better time. Yet the greatest strength of this new ISO guidance standard on social responsibility—its all-encompassing scope and coverage of numerous social responsibility issues deemed important by the 400 multi-disciplinary, global stakeholders who developed it—is also intimidating to the potential user. Bernhart and Maher show how to take the first bite of this apple, and the second, with each bite bringing the user a greater degree of comfort that their organization’s essential obligations are recognized and on their way to being addressed. The standard is voluntary, but an organization’s social responsibilities are fundamental to the right of existence. The organization can pursue its mission, but it must meet the expectations of civil society. Bernhart and Maher point the way for organizations to analyze the expec- tations that apply specifically to their organization, to map out and imple- ment programs to address them and, indeed, to leverage them in support of their mission. This book is not a substitute for the standard; it is a tool to bring the standard to life within an organization. Because many of those in its most likely audience are quality professionals, users are led to obvious link- ages between quality and social responsibility and the importance of good management. Due to the concern of many authors that the standard could become a mandatory management system standard in parallel to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, the standard was written as guidance. But clearly, ISO 26000 will be most effectively implemented by a thorough management system, one that links governance, quality, environment, safety, risk man- agement, community relations, and other functions with the social respon- sibilities of the organization. ix x Foreword In particular, this book helps the user deal with the overwhelmingly broad scope of the standard. Bernhart and Maher lead the user into social responsibility implementation using ISO 26000 through the eyes of Midget Widgets, a hypothetical, small manufacturing company, using tools and language that will be familiar and comfortable even in the smallest organi- zation. Yet even large, multinational organizations will find the book useful in taking social responsibility from the corporate headquarters to its mul- titude of facilities. This book is easy to use and filled with helpful tips, tables, and exam- ples, yet it will bear re-reading as the user undertakes social responsibil- ity and begins to appreciate just how much valuable knowledge has been packed into so few pages. —Dorothy P. Bowers Chair, U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO 26000 (2006–2009) Table of Contents List of Figures, Tables, and Boxes........................... vii Foreword .............................................. ix Acknowledgments ....................................... xi Chapter 1 Introduction and Approach.................... 1 1.1 A Unique Standard ............................... 1 1.2 Our Approach ................................... 2 Chapter 2 Building the Social Responsibility Foundation .... 7 2.1 Determining Your Social Responsibility Destination..... 10 2.2 Beginning the Paradigm Shift....................... 13 2.3 Planning for Social Responsibility Implementation: The Self-Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 2.4 Planning for Social Responsibility Implementation: Identify and Build the Team ........................ 36 Chapter 3 Implementing Social Responsibility............. 47 3.1 Key Factors for Implementing the Standard............ 48 Recognize Current Social Responsibility Performance ... 48 Become Proficient in Some Social Responsibility Process Fundamentals .......................... 49 3.2 Determining the Sphere of Influence ................. 49 3.3 Identifying and Prioritizing Stakeholders.............. 54 Reference the Guidance of the Standard and of Other Documents ................................... 56 Identify Current Internal and External Stakeholders and Engagements .............................. 57 Reference the Organization’s Social Responsibility Strategy, Policies, and Objectives.................. 58 Map Current Stakeholders and the Type(s) of Engagements Involved and Planned................ 58 v vi Table of Contents Prioritize Stakeholders and Decide on the Engagement Approach(es) for Each .......................... 59 3.4 Conducting Due Diligence ......................... 61 3.5 Identifying Relevant and Significant Issues ............ 64 Using ISO 26000 to Identify What Is Relevant and Significant.................................... 64 The ISO 26000 Criteria for Determining Social Responsibility Issue Relevance.................... 67 The ISO 26000 Criteria for Issue Significance.......... 72 The ISO 26000 Criteria for Issue Prioritization ......... 75 3.6 Conducting a Social Responsibility Gap Analysis ....... 78 Use and Enhance Existing Systems Where Feasible...... 82 3.7 Using Your Current Management System(s) with ISO 26000...................................... 82 3.8 Choosing New Systems or Tools to Implement Your Social Responsibility Strategy....................... 89 3.9 Integrating, Measuring, and Reviewing Social Responsibility Performance ........................ 90 Integrate Social Responsibility into the Line ........... 90 Measure Social Responsibility Performance............ 93 A Brief Word on Governance ....................... 96 Chapter 4 Communicating, Monitoring, and Improving Social Responsibility.................................. 99 4.1 Applying Communications Principles................. 100 4.2 Building Stakeholder Engagement and Aligning Communications ................................. 104 Making the Internal Case for Social Responsibility...... 105 Engaging External Stakeholders..................... 106 4.3 Developing Key Messages and Planning Internal and External Communications ...................... 107 Crafting Key Messages ............................ 108 Developing the Communications Plan ................ 109 4.4 Reporting....................................... 110 4.5 Enhancing Credibility............................. 113 Creating Mutually Beneficial Alliances ............... 115 4.6 Monitoring and Improving Performance .............. 117 References ............................................. 121 About the Authors ....................................... 123 Index.................................................. 125 1 Introduction and Approach The price of greatness is responsibility. —Sir Winston Churchill KEY QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER 1 1. What is ISO 26000? 2. Why a book on ISO 26000? 3. What is the approach used in this book? 1.1 A UNIQUE STANDARD ISO 26000 is a voluntary guidance standard that attempts what no other global standard on social responsibility has: to consolidate in one place the fundamental expectations of organizations regarding their responsibil- ities to society. Because the standard was developed by a global, multi- stakeholder group—consisting of thousands of contributors and reviewers from more than 90 countries—the standard addresses the wide landscape of social responsibility and provides valuable context for implementation in all types of organizations around the world. For each of seven core subjects, the standard provides information on scope, relationship to social responsibility, related principles and consid- erations, and related actions and expectations. It also provides guidance for integrating social responsibility throughout the organization. This 1 2 Chapter One integration is fundamentally transformative. It helps us connect the dots between social responsibility and quality, procurement, health and safety, communications, and many other functions, in turn strengthening each one. ISO 26000 does this within the broader library of related standards that focus on one aspect of social responsibility, such as the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (for public disclosure), AccountAbility 1000 series (for assurance), and ISO 14001 (for environmental management), as well as initiatives like the United Nations Global Compact, Equator Principles, and Millennium Development Goals, which provide far-reaching aspirations but little implementation guidance. ISO 26000 closes the gaps in these and other global and geography- and sector-specific tools by providing guidance that can be applied by any type of organization at any point along the social responsibility journey. For these reasons, we believe ISO 26000 can be a catalyst for significant change in many organizations. However, it is not a step-by-step guide. Some read- ers of the standard might find it difficult to know where to start and how to use ISO 26000 to implement social responsibility. We hope this book will help do that by providing practical strategies, tools, and examples for using ISO 26000 to integrate social responsibility into your organization. 1.2 OUR APPROACH The book is structured to help you navigate ISO 26000 and to provide succinct practical information for implementing the guidance provided by the standard. The book is akin to a GPS that speaks point-to-point guidance to you, the social responsibility driver, as you help your organization set and move toward its social responsibility goals based on the broader map that ISO 26000 provides. We want to be very clear that the book should in no way be construed as supporting certification to ISO 26000. ISO has emphatically stated that ISO 26000 provides guidance only and is not designed for certification— and reputable certification bodies will comply with that policy. However, the book contains terminology that some of you may associate with certifi- able management systems. The reason for using this terminology is that ISO 26000 encourages organizations to integrate social responsibility into their existing systems, and such management systems are common. However, it should also be clear that using a certifiable management system to help implement and integrate the guidance provided by ISO 26000 should not be used to claim certification to ISO 26000. Introduction and Approach 3 We have structured the chapters of this book based on our recommen- dations for implementing the standard in an organization. The chapters do not attempt to mimic the order of the clauses in the standard. (cid:115) (cid:35)(cid:72)(cid:65)(cid:80)(cid:84)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:18)(cid:70)(cid:79)(cid:67)(cid:85)(cid:83)(cid:69)(cid:83)(cid:79)(cid:78)(cid:85)(cid:83)(cid:73)(cid:78)(cid:71)(cid:84)(cid:72)(cid:69)(cid:83)(cid:79)(cid:67)(cid:73)(cid:65)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:69)(cid:83)(cid:80)(cid:79)(cid:78)(cid:83)(cid:73)(cid:66)(cid:73)(cid:76)(cid:73)(cid:84)(cid:89)(cid:69)(cid:88)(cid:80)(cid:69)(cid:67)(cid:84)(cid:65)(cid:84)(cid:73)(cid:79)(cid:78)(cid:83) and principles in ISO 26000 to develop or enhance social responsibility policies and strategy. The chapter also introduces many of the topics that are explained in greater detail in later chapters. (cid:115) (cid:35)(cid:72)(cid:65)(cid:80)(cid:84)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:19)(cid:80)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:86)(cid:73)(cid:68)(cid:69)(cid:83)(cid:77)(cid:85)(cid:67)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:70)(cid:84)(cid:72)(cid:69)(cid:68)(cid:69)(cid:84)(cid:65)(cid:73)(cid:76)(cid:69)(cid:68)(cid:73)(cid:77)(cid:80)(cid:76)(cid:69)(cid:77)(cid:69)(cid:78)(cid:84)(cid:65)(cid:84)(cid:73)(cid:79)(cid:78)(cid:71)(cid:85)(cid:73)(cid:68)(cid:65)(cid:78)(cid:67)(cid:69) on topics that Chapter 2 has outlined. This includes the nuts and bolts of stakeholder engagement, how to determine the significance of your organization’s social responsibility issues, how your organization might conduct a social responsibility gap analysis against the standard’s guidance, and other topics. (cid:115) (cid:35)(cid:72)(cid:65)(cid:80)(cid:84)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:20)(cid:68)(cid:73)(cid:83)(cid:67)(cid:85)(cid:83)(cid:83)(cid:69)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:87)(cid:89)(cid:79)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:71)(cid:65)(cid:78)(cid:73)(cid:90)(cid:65)(cid:84)(cid:73)(cid:79)(cid:78)(cid:67)(cid:65)(cid:78)(cid:67)(cid:79)(cid:77)(cid:77)(cid:85)(cid:78)(cid:73)(cid:67)(cid:65)(cid:84)(cid:69) about social responsibility, including ongoing communications and the practicalities of what is commonly referred to as sustainability reporting. The book also does not attempt to provide a line-by-line interpretation of ISO 26000 because the standard’s guidance is mostly clear and we did not want to write a 500-page book to interpret a 106-page standard. Nonethe- less, we do strive to work from what the standard provides by, where practi- cable, referencing its clauses to begin the discussion of a topic. The standard is somewhat repetitive on topics such as stakeholder engagement, due diligence, social responsibility integration, and the impor- tance of contributing to sustainable development. There are two good reasons for the repetition: the topics are sufficiently important to war- rant repetition, and they need to be reiterated to provide context or other information. We use a range of tools in the book that we hope you find useful. One of these, the sequence of steps, warrants an introduction. As noted, the stan- dard is by design not a management system standard; it provides guidance, not the prescriptive requirements of a management system standard. There- fore, we felt that you might benefit from a structured plan for implementing the standard’s guidance—the sequence of steps is such a plan. Some of you may also find the sequence of steps useful when deciding how to read the standard. However, in no way should the sequence of steps be seen as pro- moting certification to ISO 26000. The sequence of steps is designed solely 4 Chapter One to help you better understand and efficiently take advantage of what ISO 26000 offers. Table 1.1 lays out the structured plan along with the chapters of the book and the clauses of the standard that you may find most useful for each step. It is important to note that the sequence of steps is presented to help overcome paralysis by analysis—it is designed to get you planning, mov- ing, and using the standard. The steps that your organization follows may be sequenced differently from what we suggest. In practice, many of the activities listed occur in parallel, not in series. For example, top manage- ment (the standard uses the term “senior leadership”) may be reviewing social responsibility strategy at a high level while a core team is convening, Table 1.1 Suggested steps for implementing ISO 26000. Most relevant Sequence ISO 26000 PDCA of steps Step purpose Chapter clauses cycle Conduct a To understand Chapter 2 Clauses 4, Plan self-assessment what’s working 7.2, 7.3.3 well, determine the destination on the social responsibility continuum, and set objectives Identify and To provide for Chapter 2 Not covered build the team for ongoing directly in a coordination and specific clause guidance of social responsibility strategy development and implementation Begin To understand their Chapter 2 Clause 5.3 engaging social responsibility introduces, internal and interests and and external concerns and begin Chapters stakeholders communicating the 3 and 4 organization’s provide social responsibility more objectives and detailed strategies guidance Continued