Global Compact International Yearbook Ausgabe 2011

Agenda ISO 26000
Can Social Responsibility
Be Standardized?
ISO 26000 Gives It a Go!
By Anne Gadegaard,
Even though organizations cannot be certified according to
the ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility, the short
answer to this question about standardization would be a yes
… and no. Yes, since it is possible to standardize an organization’s
processes of working in an integrated environment
with social responsibility. But no, since it is not possible to
standardize the outcome of this process – the organization’s
level of social responsibility.
But in this respect, the outcome is not what matters. This is not
just another beauty contest to determine who does best. The
point is that all types of organizations, together with their stakeholders,
should explore what their material issues are and how
they should address them in order to deliver long-term value to
the organization, the organization’s stakeholders, and society.
With the publication of the long-awaited ISO 26000 Guidance
on Social Responsibility, more than 500 experts from all types
of organizations around the world have reached consensus on
how social responsibility can be integrated in an organization.
The mere fact that consensus has been reached with such a
wide stakeholder representation in the process of developing
the standard is a significant achievement and a key strength.
I believe it was a bold move by ISO to initiate this process and
they should be commended for this. One of the standard’s
weaknesses is its length and level of complexity. For an organization
that wants to initiate the process of working with
social responsibility, I would suggest using the recommended
seven principles and seven core subjects to get started rather
than reading the standard from A to Z.
In short, my summary of what an organization must do is:
5
Program Director,
Novo Nordisk, and Chairman of
the Danish Mirror Committee to
the ISO 26000.
1| identify its material issues and key stakeholders;
2| engage with key stakeholders on key material issues – are
these the right ones?
3| decide on how the governance of the work with the key
material issues should be organized internally;
4| develop strategies and action plans for the prioritized material
issues;
5| engage with key stakeholders and receive their input to
the priorities;
6| initiate, follow up, and communicate about the progress
in a balanced way.
While this might seem simple, there will be several internal
and external challenges on the journey. Once an organization
has committed itself to this and has communicated this commitment,
expectations will increase. Prioritizing stakeholder
expectations entails that not all stakeholders will be content.
Understanding how to deal with these challenges is part of
the learning journey.
It is important that the organization is clear about its purpose
and how it can create long-term value for shareholders,
stakeholders, and society. Being socially responsible should
not be seen as just yet another cost to the organization, but
rather as the way the organization understands its responsibility
and seeks to meet stakeholder expectations in order
to maximize value for all. The best way of illustrating this is
through an example.
Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company whose purpose is to
discover, develop, and market therapeutic treatments to people
with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hemophilia, and
growth hormone deficiency. In other words, their purpose is
to save lives and improve people’s quality of life. To succeed,
the business must be profitable and deliver a competitive
return on shareholders’ investment. Just as important, commercial
success depends on the ability to earn and maintain a
societal license to operate – to align business priorities with
society’s needs and to reconcile diverse stakeholder expectations.
That is why Novo Nordisk’s business philosophy is to
always seek to balance financial, social, and environmental
considerations with the aim of creating long-term value for
the patients they serve as well as becoming a sustainable
business.
The most material issue for Novo Nordisk is access to health.
With the epidemic spread of diabetes – there were an estimated
285 million people with diabetes in 2010, and it is expected
to increase to 438 million in 2030 – it will be impossible for
Novo Nordisk alone to bring a halt to this pandemic. Diabetes
is a lifestyle-related condition that is linked to economic
growth, a result of dietary changes, and sedentary lifestyles.
We therefore engage with patient organizations, healthcare
professionals, governments, and other key opinion leaders
through our Changing Diabetes® program to find shared solutions
to this problem, which has immense personal, social,
and economic costs.
Another global and related challenge that Novo Nordisk
faces is climate change. And while we do not belong to
an energy-intensive sector – or for that matter have high
carbon emissions – we recognize that these two challenges
share the same root causes, and so the remedies would also
be similar. Helping to address both is therefore consistent
with our purpose.
Initially we set an absolute reduction target for the CO 2
emissions
from our production process. This is our commitment as a
member of WWF’s Climate Savers program. We have decoupled
CO 2
emissions from the growth in sales – CO 2
emissions per
sales have decreased from an index level of 100 in 2003 to an
index level of 20 in 2010. This is based on investments that are
paid back in two years on average and that will continue to
generate annual cost savings in the long term, not forgetting
the avoided social costs of carbon emissions.
So my best advice is to get started. Use the ISO 26000 as a
framework that includes the building blocks that need to be
considered – then develop your own tailor-made approach
to social responsibility. Do not get overwhelmed by the many
issues. Prioritize, and then engage with your organization’s
stakeholders to get the priorities right. That way you are in
a much better position to secure long-term value for your
organization, for your stakeholders, and for society.
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