The development and recent approval of the ISO 26000 guidance standard on social responsibility, as the first ISO standard on social responsibility, seeks to leverage the work of social responsibility initiatives into one comprehensive document covering human rights, labor rights, environment, fair operational practices, consumer issues, and community involvement. Additionally, it will leverage ISO's ability to engage a wider audience, as many producers in developing countries are familiar with working with existing ISO standards.

The development of this guidance standard took a multi-stakeholder approach. SAAS Executive Director, Rochelle Zaid has been a member of the ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility since it was founded 5 years ago. SAAS is an independent accreditation agency, which has an affiliation agreement with SAI. SAI's involvement and input focused on the labor rights and human rights principles, and sought to ensure that this ISO initiative is working in alignment with existing good practices. The SA8000 standard will be included in ISO 26000's informative annex, which will show a sample of tools to assist organizations who are seeking to benchmark themselves, and to show that they are adhering to the principles.

SAI is preparing several training and auditing tools that will enable employers and auditors to better develop their understanding and implementation of several compliance areas covered in the ISO 26000 guidance standard. SAI's programs offer companies a ready resource for measuring, improving, and demonstrating progress toward the principles of ISO26000, specifically for human rights and labor conditions. Whatever their location or industry, companies might choose to earn SA8000 certification as a credible and well-recognized indicator of high performance in these issues.  SAI's Supplier Tiered Rating System is an additional tool which enables buyers to evaluate a supplier's internal capacity and processes related to social compliance; it builds on SA8000 compliance requirements and embed them in a broader analysis of management systems and progress. The tiered rating system can also be adapted to other social or environmental standards.  

Ultimately, this Supply Chain Management Rating System tool can be utilized in three ways:

"I am an Economics and French major at Wellesley College interested in issues of human rights and poverty, focusing particularly on developing countries. I chose to intern at SAI because of its honorable focus on improving labor standards and promoting sustainable development worldwide. I wanted to be a part of this mission and learn more about SA8000 and the work of SAI. After I graduate from Wellesley, I hope to focus on improving the developing world, and believe that SAI is a great place to begin that journey and goal. I will be working with Eileen Kaufman. I am excited to learn and contribute to SAI throughout the summer as my first week here has already been wonderful."

"I'm a rising senior at Wellesley College majoring in Economics and minoring in Women's Studies. I'm a native of California who is venturing to the East Coast to explore. Over the past year, I studied abroad in Beijing, China, and became fascinated with China's labor and human rights issues. Because of this interest, I applied to intern at SAI. This summer, I'll be working in the Corporate Programs and Training department. Already, I feel that I've absorbed a lot of information about CSR and compliance."

" I am a rising junior at Wellesley College, double-majoring in History and Economics. I first got involved in environmental activism and, later, CSR, in China and Singapore. I am very concerned about workers' welfare in China, where much of the consumer goods in supermarkets were manufactured. This is because the low income and poor well-being of average Chinese workers meant tremendous human suffering and social unrest, in addition to a drain on the economic potential of the major emerging economy. I believe that improvement of workers' welfare, initiated either by the legislature or the business community itself, is the ultimate solution to the economic quagmire that China, together with some of the other emerging economies that started from an export-oriented strategy, is stuck in today.
 
From my experience at SAI, I hope to learn about the strengths and limitations of international standards in the area of labor rights, particularly how an international standard adapts to specific local conditions and the concrete solutions that industrial managers come up with to deal with their workers' concerns."

May 10-14- The Ethos Institute Annual Board Meeting & International Conference included the participation of SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin, where as an Ethos Board member, she engaged in discussions that focused on the implementation of Ethos' 10 Year Plan.   

June 11- Send Us Your Best (Training) Shot! Thanks to Eugen Manu, participant in SAI's Advanced Auditor Training Course in Bucharest, for sharing the above training photo. Got something to share? Send Kate Critchell your best shot! 

June 15- SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin and SAI Advisory Board member, Dr. Morton Winston joined discussions at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which focused on the proposed changes to their Policy and Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability. 

June 16- SAI Launches 'Human Writes at Work," a collaborative blog with postings contributed by SAI Interns and produced by SAI's Joleen Ong. Get connected!

June 16-17- The IFC 2010 Corporate Responsibility Forum included participation from SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin, and focused on strategic community investment and measuring returns on sustainability investments. 

June 24- From Principles to Practice: The Role of SA8000 in Implementing the UN Global Compact- published at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, a joint report of SAI, UNGC and CIPE. Case studies of six companies in different countries and different industries, using SA8000 to meet and report on the UNGC principles. Excerpts and ordering information in next newsletter.

July 2010- The Corporate Responsibility Code Book, 2nd Ed. Published by Greenleaf, author Deborah Leipziger's forthcoming revised second edition is a key reference text on corporate codes of conduct. The SA8000 standard is included, along with ETI's base code, and others. Pre-order a copy.