Create your own CSR strategy: adelphi develops guide for companies

As a multi-thematic and cross-sector CSR standard, ISO 26000 provides various recommendations for practical application regarding central themes of social responsibility. adelphi's new guide for companies simplifies the working with this norm as well as the introduction of appropriate CSR measures.

On a political level, ISO 26000 standard is recognised as an optional and internationally applicable guidance norm. Due to its more than 600 recommendations, demand has grown for guide with which internationally active businesses can review their sustainability measures and customise them to their specific working contexts.

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), adelphi has produced just such a guide. The publication, entitled “Gesellschaftliche Verantwortung von Unternehmen” (German only, title translated “Social Responsibility of Businesses”), provides comprehensive information about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and offers practical guidance on how to set reporting limits and how to publish practical, user-friendly information on all topics and key figures relevant to CSR.

Publication offers medium-sized companies background information and recommendations for applying the ISO standard

The new publication caters specifically for medium-sized, international companies that wish to assess their sustainability measures in relation to the provisions of ISO 26000, and to communicate these efforts with consumers, suppliers and other relevant groups.

The guide supports businesses by helping them optimise their use of the entire spectrum of data relating to sustainability performance, including key indicators from the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), for example. It likewise focuses on concrete and measurable criteria and offers tailored solutions for operationalisation.

In addition to the analysis and expert surveys, the BMUB and UBA project also included a workshop discussion. In each of these three phases it became clear that this new guide – given the number of industry-specific requirements for handling social responsibility – cannot serve as an all-inclusive handbook for dealing with the ISO 26000 recommendations. Rather, it explains the necessary background, presents possible approaches and provides suggestions for how companies can successfully apply the ISO standard’s recommendations.

» Publication: Gesellschaftliche Verantwortung von Unternehmen (German only)