The impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 on standardisation of social responsibility--an inside perspective

Following a growing interest in corporate social responsibility, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced plans for development of the ISO 26000--guidance standard for social responsibility. Despite initial signals that ISO 26000 will be built on the intellectual and practical infrastructure of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000, the Advisory Group on Social Responsibility set a different direction: a guidance standard and not a specification standard against which conformity can be assessed. This paper aims to investigate what views ISO member body delegations and invited participants in international standardisation of social responsibility had about the divergence from the meta-standard approach towards a guidance standard. To answer the research question, the discussions at the ISO International Conference on Social Responsibility, where ISO member body delegations and approximately 40 invited organisations commented on this matter, have been analysed. As a result of this understanding, not only will insight into the first steps of standardisation of social responsibility be provided, but it will also shed light on the perception of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 that are held by standard developers.