In his recent blog, ASQ CEO Paul Borawski asks the Quality world how to measure the return on investment for Social Responsibility (SR) in order to make a business case about it. Many companies are already embracing a form of SR in their daily work, but for different reasons. Given this situation, in many cases there is no need to make a business case for SR.
Over the past few years, in light of various company scandals worldwide, many companies have adopted a "Code of Ethics" or some other document that defines the socially responsible and ethical expectations. All employees are trained in this "Code" and are required to document their understanding and acceptance of the requirements. This activity is usually managed by an administrative function in the company.
A company that has already implemented a Code of Ethics can use ISO 26000 to evaluate and, if necessary, modify their document to make it match the expectations of the standard. Those companies that do not have a Code of Ethics can use the requirements of ISO 26000 to start their own document and follow through on it. In either case, the standard is serving its purpose to be used as a guideline for the further implementation of SR in the world.
