Recommendation: Identify all key terms and screen the document in the same way

It goes without saying that the draft DIS should be compared against the requirements of the Design Specification.

Annex 2 to this document shows the NWIP related requirements and gives an initial assessment of their fulfilment.

Recommendation: Check the draft DIS against N049 before sending it out for the requisite five month enquiry

Recommendation: specify the beta test and run it in parallel with the drafting of the DIS, thereby ahead of the DIS enquiry so that ideally, results can be made available in time for some analysis and incorporation into the draft DIS  before it is sent to ISO member bodies for enquiry

As deducible from item T4, this would require a major redesign of the current text, also in order to make it applicable for SMO.

Recommendation: if so decided, develop a new schedule for finalizing the project including a major re-write.

It would be too bad in regard of image and process if general comments would have to be repeated when commenting on the DIS.

Recommendation: use column 7 of the template and provide a feedback on the general comments.

Recommendation: either reduce the volume to some 50 pages max. by reworking the whole text or maintain its handbook character and agree to publish it as an ISO Technical Report.

Recommendation: express clearly that the organization itself has to determine the relevance of a core subject.

Recommendation: either include governments into the scope of the guidance standard, or include a definition of “organization” as used throughout the ISO 26000 that excludes governmental organizations

Recommendation: either exclude SMOs from the scope of the guidance standard noting this as a deviation from the requirements of the Design Specification N049, or include a definition of “organization” as used in ISO 26000 that excludes SMO.

Recommendation: modify the definition accordingly

Recommendation: modify this claim so that ISO 26000 respects and takes into account the different levels of law, regulation and enforcement mechanisms in areas where it may be used

Recommendation: include such an explicit statement into the scope

Both wordings indicate that this is the intent of the document but don’t say clearly that certification against a guidance standard is technically simply not possible: it is left to the user what to do with the document, including – as an option – to certify against it. So, it is not a surprise that first examples occur, see http://www.iso26000estimation.com/html/misuse_of_iso_26000.html , where certification is/was offered or the ISO 26000 is listed under certification and management systems (like at NSAI, the Irish ISO member; even when the later text on ISO 26000 under these headings says, that ISO 26000 certification is not offered; see http://www.nsai.ie/iso/ 2009-04-29, also reproduced in Annex 3 to this document).

Most cases, so far, occurred due to a lack of information, in spite of all good ISO information policies. The desire to create revenues from certification seems to induce such offers.

A clarification expressed in the Introduction would not be sufficient because the introduction of an ISO standard is not normative but of explanatory nature only.

Recommendation: add a note to the related paragraph of the scope that reads
“Note: any such action is a misuse of ISO 26000”.

Recommendation: where necessary, denote the document as a
guidance standard

• “health welfare of society”, or
• International norms of behavior

An ISO Standard must not contain undefined terms.

For example, an organization can easily argue that employing a person and giving it and/or its family income and a living is a contribution to the welfare of society.

Furthermore, there must be no equivocating on the primary responsibility of the state for the “health and welfare of society”.  These references, e.g., lines 93-94, 248, must be removed from where they appear throughout the document, including in the Social Responsibility definition.  This is far too broad an objective for an individual organization to even attempt to achieve.

Recommendation: terms to be deleted or replaced; check for other such undefined terms and either define or delete them

• Stakeholder
• Social vs. societal
• Welfare of society
• should

• “stakeholder” in German is “betroffene Kreise”, that means  “affected parties” and not just “interested parties”;
  in Spanish the translation is “ las partes interesadas“, which would re-translate into „interested parties“
• “Social” can mean both an individual social case or “related to society”; in German “sozial” can also mean both these cases and for better differentiation the second case is attributed by “gesellschaftlich” which would re-translate into “societal”;
  in Spanish “social” indicates also both meanings
• “Welfare of society” would translate, with the same meaning, into Spanish by “bienestar  de la sociedad”; in German expressions like “gesellschaftlicher Wohlstand” or “Wohlstand der Gesellschaft” are uncommon and the translation with an equivalent meaning would be “allgemeiner Wohlstand”, which would re-translate into “general welfare”
• “should” is “sollte” in German and “debería” in Spanish
  “could” is “könnte” and “podría”
• “may” is “kann” and “puede”

It would cause huge differences in the understanding of ISO 26000 if key terms and key verbs would be translated with different meanings.

Recommendation: list the key terms and verbs, and prepare an agreed translation of them before the various translation task forces start the translation work.

• The standard should be applicable by all types of organizations. (e.g. regardless of their size, location, the nature of their activities and products, and the culture, society and environment in which they carry out their activities.)

• limiting the proliferation of  SR sector standards;

• facilitate trade liberalization and remove trade barriers (implement open and fair trade); and

• complement [remark: the original text says “compliment”] and avoid conflicts with other existing SR standards and requirements.