Understanding the Nature of ISO 26000, a Coming International Standard on Social Responsibility

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is now in the middle of developing a new international standard on social responsibility (SR), namely ISO 26000. This paper introduces: (1) the process in which ISO 26000 has been developed so far; (2) the structure of the standard which has come to light; and (3) some points that we should consider based on the first two points in order to understand the nature of ISO 26000 better. This paper argues that ISO should seek to harmonize process standards on SR rather than substantive ones if it wants to add its own value to the recent international movement towards enhanced social responsibility. It is also argued that despite an interpretation that the standard under development is not a management system standard (MSS), ISO 26000 cannot avoid having a certain form of MSS. Lastly, this paper points out that a certain type of conformity assessment will be inevitable although developers of ISO 26000 do not want users to employ the standard as a framework of the third-party certification, or even conformity assessment as a whole.