ISO 26000 : CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
ISO 26000 : CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
What is the ultimate goal of business? Business is one of the greatest tools that humanity has at its disposal for one major reason: it has the power to make a change on a massive level.
Yet this power comes with a large social responsibility. Businesses must strive to shape the world into something extraordinary.
The ISO 26000 sets the standard on corporate social responsibility.
Since 1947, the International Organization for Standardization has had the foresight to set a standard for businesses worldwide. This standard has evolved in recent years but none of its potency is lost.
Currently, the ISO 26000 Standard has elucidated the social responsibility of business in modern times. This quality management system is highly sought after by a multitude of businesses around the world.
Here are a few reasons why the ISO 26000 is a boon for the world of business.
Together, the two additional bottom lines (community and environment), form the backbone of what is known as corporate social responsibility (CSR).
FOCUS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
However, this does nothing but hurt the company. Your employees should want to work for you because of what your company stands for.
The ISO 26000 lays out many ways that a company can ensure that each employee’s human rights are valued.
This includes a focus on historically vulnerable groups of people.
You would be surprised at the increased level of success a company gains due to its basic respect for human rights. The company that puts its best foot forward in the realm of human rights is powerful.
One of the greatest things about the ISO 26000 is that it covers all the areas of this social responsibility.
The world today is much more aware of the global issues affecting far too many groups of people. Any business of merit can see the wrongs in the world and do its part to fix them.
The guidelines listed by the ISO 26000 ensure that any business that follows them will be exemplary.
UNDERSTANDING CSR
In recent years, more and more companies have shifted their focus from a single bottom line to what’s known as a ‘triple bottom line’. What this boils down to is that instead of specifically focusing on profits and profits alone, organizations are also prioritizing their obligation to both the local and global communities in which they operate, as well as the environment.
TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE
The media loves to portray business people as greedy, cold, pragmatic, and slimy. This image has pervaded the minds of millions throughout the years.
If you were to tell the average person that you work in finance, they would almost pity you. After all, you helped caused every economic disaster in the last 30 years, right?
The focus on profit above all else has given the world of business an image problem. Your image plays a large part in selling or producing any kind of product. The wrong kind of image can lead a company down the path of ruin.
The way to defeat this to take a bold stance on social responsibility.
One of the most critical elements of the ISO 26000 is performance on social responsibility. This means that a company must do more than make empty speeches about change. Action has to occur.
The concept of the triple bottom line shows that you are taking concrete steps to create a business of worth. This additional layer to your bottom line adds social responsibility to the criterion of a great business.
Your community, both at home and globally, must also be thriving. The ISO 26000 will ensure that companies can fulfill their obligation to the world.
The national standard is quickly following the ISO 26000, and any company that ignores it lacks foresight.
The 26000 standard is the standard of successful and impactful businesses.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
You look out the window as you bask in the glory of creating a great business. You see a bright light that gets brighter and brighter until it engulfs you and all of your employees. This is the result of the planet losing its ozone layer completely.
While that is an extreme example, it is nonetheless true. All the profits in the world mean nothing if the world is on the brink of environmental destruction.
Believe it or not, each company has an obligation to making sure that the environment does not get any worse. ISO 26000 social responsibility contains a focus on how businesses can make a positive impact on the environment.
The largest aspect of this is pollution and how it can be avoided. With just a few steps taken, a large impact can occur.
People are very aware and dedicated to climate change. As such a business should also be aware of it and do its part to fight it.
Customers want to support a business with high management system standards. The ones outlined by the 26000 are more than sufficient enough to show that a given company is doing its part.
ELEVATED BRAND PERCEPTION
Everyone has one, as it is a vital part of how a business is perceived. Performance of social responsibility can only help a business. People will see that they care and thus they deserve support.
ISO 26000 was developed with the intent of elevating a company’s brand in the eyes of the world. This change in perception can lead to increased business and a more motivated workforce.
There is no downside to having an elevated brand perception. The brand of a given company should always be seen as innovative anyway.
The 26000 standard allows a company to raise their brand to the kind of levels that impress customers. Another plus is that the national standard will rise to meet it, and your company will be far ahead of the curve.
CUSTOMIZING CSR AND ISO 26000
The great thing about CSR and ISO 26000 is that they can both be completely customizable and unique to the cares and industry of the organization. For instance, ISO standards are designed to be used by any size of organization, from single-member LLC’s, all the way to multi-corporation conglomerates.
HOW ISO 26000 HELPS WITH CSR?
ISO 26000 is focused on implementing processes and procedures that help companies and organizations assess their commitment to sustainability. The standards also help organizations address how efficient the CSR channels they currently have in place are.
Using the standards presented in ISO 26000 to craft processes and procedures will increase the efficiency of CSR efforts, while saving money, and benefiting the global community. This leads to an elevated brand perception, higher customer loyalty, and a stronger community presence.
THE ISO 26000 IS THE WISE CHOICE
Perception is king and it is vital to ensure that your company is seen as groundbreaking.
This means surpassing the national standard and following the one set by the ISO 26000.
To create a company with vision and impact the ISO 26000 standard should be implemented.
Reach out to the forward thinkers at Glacier Consulting, who are prepared to help elevate your business to the next level.
ISO certification follows the same process, regardless of the ISO standard you are seeking:
- Establish, implement and verify your ISO management system
- Stage 1 audit – Documentation Review
- Stage 2 audit – Full system audit
- Closure of any findings
- Certification!
The standards that best suit your company vary by the industry you are in. In order to identify the standards that will provide your company with the greatest benefits, we recommend the following:
- Talk to your customers – many of them may require certain ISO standards.
- Evaluate your companies risks – see where your companies great liabilities are what needs to be controlled (e.g. quality, environmental aspects, health & safety hazards, IT security, etc.).
- Be proactive and identify new business opportunities – evaluate new areas / industries you want to grow your business. Often times, these new industries may require some sort of certification in order to enter. Certification takes time, so being proactive and having the certifications before bidding on projects can put you ahead of your competition.
The time to become ISO certified really depends on a few different factors:
- The resources you have available to support the ISO process
- Your own internal timeframe that you need / want to be certified by
- The standard’s requirement for how much evidence you need to support certification
Certification requires you to show through objective evidence that you have an effective ISO management system in place. In order to do this, you need to show that you have sufficient evidence available to support this claim. At a minimum, most standards will require 3 months of evidence of implementing your management system in order to be certified.
Some standards, such as IATF 16949, may require a minimum of one year of evidence to support certification.
The cost for certification can vary greatly from one company to another. There are typically several factors that go into the costs for certification:
- Certification body fees
- Certification body audit day rates
- Auditor travel costs
- Standard license fees (e.g. R2, RIOS, eStewards license fees)
- Consulting Fees
Audit time and consulting time is typically based on the following factors:
- Number of employees
- Number of processes and the risks associated with those processes
- Number of locations
We have the experience to help you navigate the certification body costs and possible discounts they can offer.
You can Request a Quote here or get an Instant Quote here
ISO certification shows your customers that you follow industry best practices and that your business is well structured and ready for growth.
Each ISO standard has its own benefits, for example:
- ISO 9001 – Ensures you provide your customers with a quality product or service
- ISO 27001 – Protects your information, data and reputation
- ISO 14001 – Reduces your environmental impact
- ISO 45001 – Protects your workers
- Responsible Recycling (R2) – ensures responsible management of used electronics
Common benefits across all ISO standard include:
- Increased efficiency
- Reduced costs
- Improved customer satisfaction
- More engaged employees
- Reduced risks
- Reduced insurance premiums
- Helps with project bidding
By achieving and maintaining an ISO certification, you are showing your company’s commitment to achieving your objectives, improving your business and increasing the credibility and customer confidence in your product or service.
Yes. We have been providing remote auditing and consulting services for years. We have found remote auditing and consulting to be just as effective as on-site. We use a variety of tools to ensure we are thorough in our remote services, while saving you time and money.
The great thing about working with Glacier consulting is that you don’t need anything in place to get started. We will work with you ever step of the way to ensure you have everything you need to get certified.
Most companies have far more in place than they realize. Just because it may not be documented, doesn’t mean you don’t have processes in place. We will work with your team to improve, streamline and formalize these processes.
One of the most common questions we get is how much time and effort does it take to get and maintain certification. The bulk of the effort should be at the beginning to get your management system established and implemented. To do this, we take what you already do and formalize it to meet the standard requirements. There may be some minor tweaking done, but this typically only improves and streamlines your process.
Once your ISO management system is in place, maintaining it should be as easy as breathing because it should become part of your culture and everyday operations. At the end of the day, you shouldn’t think of it as your ISO system, you should think of it as simply your way of operating your company.
We work with countless ISO standards. We’ve only listed the most common ISO standards typically sought after. We have a diverse team with tremendous knowledge in many of the ISO standards. Contact us and let us know what standard you are interested in. If we don’t offer that service, we can find you someone who can.
We can tailor a service specific to your needs to help you along your ISO journey. We can provide basic guidance to full “White Glove” support. If it’s business or ISO related, we’ve got you covered. A few of our services include:
- General ISO Consulting
- Documentation Prep
- Training
- Auditing
- Maintenance
Contact us with any questions you have or for services not listed here.
