Stakeholder Engagement, ISO and Corporate Social Responsibility

This is one of three Issue Briefing Notes produced by a partnership of six sustainable development-oriented non-governmental organizations, including three international organizations and three organizations based in developing countries. The Issue Briefing Notes present a general overview of three issues that deserve particular attention in discussions on the possible development by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for international Social Responsibility standards. They address issues related to small and medium-sided enterprises (SMEs); stakeholder capacity to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR); and national differences in CSR definitions and priorities. While written with an international focus, the papers are drawn particularly on insights from Chile, India and South Africa. For more information, please visit • ISO's approach to stakeholder engagement should be informed by an understanding of the current constraints to stakeholder engagement in the CSR agenda as a whole. • ISO itself must accept some responsibility for tackling financial and human capacity challenges that work against multi-stakeholder engagement in the CSR agenda by playing a more proactive role in advocating broad-based multi-stakeholder participation and influence in the CSR agenda. • ISO needs to go beyond providing opportunities for stakeholders to participate in the development of any CSR-related standard to creating the circumstances in which those opportunities are likely to be realized. • ISO's efforts to address the lack of developing country stakeholder participation in standardization need to be stepped up including through enhanced availability of financial resources for engagement, non-technical guides and technical assistance. • ISO should develop a guide for national standards bodies on stakeholder engagement in CSR-related standards-setting. This should provide guidance on proactive steps to encourage broad-based stakeholder engagement, and tailored guidance on the application of key ISO rules of procedure—including ISO's specific definition of " consensus. " • In the event of a decision to proceed with a CSR-related standard, ISO should at the earliest possible stage develop a guide for potential participants, incorporating an overview of the relevant ISO rules of procedure; guidance on different entry points to the process; and an outline of the sources of financial resources, assistance and additional advice on how to engage. • Any ISO CSR-related outputs will need to be capable of providing non-prescriptive meaningful guidance to businesses on issues of stakeholder engagement. They should draw on, or make links to, existing guidance— for example the AA1000 family of standards and the outputs of the Business Partners for Development …