|
Question |
Answer |
| 1 |
Is ISO 26000 a standard? |
Although published as a ‘standard’, it is in reality simply a guidance document. ISO 26000 does not contain requirements which one would need to fulfill. |
| 2 |
Does ISO 26000 describe a management system? |
No. Its scope says clearly that it is not a management system standard. Therefore, ISO 26000 has nothing to do with ISO 9001 or ISO 14001. |
| 3 |
Is ISO 26000 certifiable? |
No. The scope of ISO 26000 declares any kind of certification a misuse. |
| 4 |
Can a purchaser or customer request an ISO 26000 certificate from my company as supplier? |
No. There is no accredited ISO 26000 certification. ISO has issued a special press release on this on 30 November 2010. Accredited certification Institutes (members of the IAF International Accreditation Forum) are you requested by IAF to refrain from any ISO 26000 certification. |
| 5 |
In spite of this, are there certification offers? |
Yes, because accredited certification institutes may offer certificates in their area of non-accredited activities. |
| 6 |
Can my company be requested to provide a non-accredited ISO 26000 certificate? |
No, because the guidance document ISO 26000 does not contain any requirements which could be certified against. |
| 7 |
Can ISO 26000 be included into other certificates? |
There are combined offers on the market where the declaration of conformity may include for example ISO 9001, ISO 14001, SA 8000 etc. and also ISO 26000 at the same time. Such offers are misleading and close to fraudulent because ISO 26000 does not contain any certifiable requirements. |
| 8 |
Can one “implement” the ISO 26000 recommendations? |
No. One can “follow” the recommendations. One can also develop recommendations into specific measures that can be “implemented”. |
| 9 |
Can one “integrate” the ISO 26000 guidance into organizational processes? |
No. One can selectively reflect the recommendations of ISO 26000 into specific measures that can be integrated into organizational processes. |
| 10 |
Is the ISO 26000 easy to read? |
Hardly. With its hundred pages it is a voluminous and detailed document. Its language is often clumsy. Because of its all-embracing approach it contains many recommendations that are inevitably not relevant for small and medium-sized enterprises. |
| 11 |
Is there an easy-to-understand user guide? |
Yes, at http://www.ifan.org/ifanportal/livelink/fetch/2000/2035/36282/394607/social_responsibility/ind e x-sr.html and http://www.26k-estimation.com/user-guides-iso-26000 |
| 12 |
Do I need to purchase ISO 26000 in order to understand the user guide? |
Not necessarily. The user guide mentions ISO 26000 core subjects and issues in the 26k-issue-tool. |
| 13 |
What is this 26k-issue-tool? |
It is an Excel sheet (used for text processing only) that lists all core subjects and issues, and poses six questions to quickly find out whether a core subject or an issue may be relevant for an enterprise. This Excel sheet simultaneously allows documentation of the result of the analysis. |
| 14 |
Is an ISO 26000 training recommendable? |
Not generally. This needs to be judged individually. Training costs may easily exceed 1000 € when the expenditures for travel and training are taken together. |
| 15 |
May ISO 26000 be used in contracts? |
No. The scope of the guidance document excludes this explicitly. So, ISO 26000 must not be used in public or private procurement or any other kind of contracts. |