3. Social responsibility

This relatively recent concept is the subject of the ISO 26000 standard published in November 2010, which is not subject to certification. ISO is the International Organization for Standardization, which brings together the standards institutes of 163 countries (in 2010); AFNOR represents France. Following in the footsteps of ISO 9000 (quality), 14001 (environment) and OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety management), ISO 26000 was born out of the need to take into account the opinions of stakeholders (consumers, manufacturers, government representatives, NGOs and trade unions from both developed and emerging countries).

Its aim is to measure the impact of organizations "within their sphere of influence" on society and the environment, and to gauge stakeholder expectations. The scope of ISO 26000 is broader than just "occupational health and safety", which...