ABSTRACT
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is developing a voluntary set of guidelines on social responsibility that will be launched in 2010. Organizations will be able to use the ISO 26000 Guidelines in many ways. First, the guidelines will provide a common language and framework for organizations. Second, organizations will be able to adopt the guidelines or use them to orient their own policies. Third, organizations can use the listing of issue areas to report on key topics. SA8000 is a standard that is certifiable, whereas ISO 26000 provides guidance to companies. SA8000 includes management systems, whereas ISO 26000 is descriptive. Social Accountability International (SAI) will release a hard-copy document of SA8000 which demonstrates how SA8000 can help organizations to meet aspects of ISO 26000. ISO 26000 has developed through a series of international meetings where stakeholders from the groups listed and D-liaison organizations participated in the initial drafting of the standard.
