ISO 26000 – using the new CSR guideline for the Deutsche Bank Netherlands

Rotterdam, Zuid Holland, The Netherlands
June 2011

The new guidance standard on (Corporate) Social Responsibility, ISO 26000, is being used more and more throughout the world. Over 450 experts from nearly 100 ISO member countries contributed to the development of this guidance standard, the largest and most wide spread stakeholder process ISO has ever known. This shows the worldwide interest in and the importance of the topic. But that is not all, it is also a reflection of the necessity for a standardised terminology and approach to the Social Responsibility (SR) of organisations. Inogen Associate Beco, based in the Netherlands & Belgium, has used the guidance standard and the approach it describes for many of its clients, including Deutsche Bank Netherlands, a world player in the financial sector, who has already undertaken many CSR activities.

This article sets out to introduce ISO 26000 as well as elaborate on Beco’s approach in consulting with the Deutsche Bank.

ISO 26000

Perhaps the best way to introduce the guidance standard is to first clarify what it is not. ISO 26000 is not:

  • A check list for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
  • A certifiable standard
  • Designed only for multinationals
  • A sector or country specific approach to CSR
  • Intended for procurement criteria nor to replace rules and legislation

The guideline to the ISO 26000 standard has multiple objectives. One objective, for example, is to support organisations in defining their social responsibilities and acting in accordance with these responsibilities in order to contribute to sustainable development. Another objective is to increase the credibility of SR claims. Such objectives are already good motivations for the development of ISO 26000 in themselves, but more specific reasons for the development of a global CSR guideline exist as well.

Despite many initiatives in the field of CSR, such as the development of standards, codes, norms and guidelines, an international, broadly-oriented, comprehensive, and overarching SR guideline issued by a well-known authority has not yet been developed. Many standards, of course, focus on a specific area of CSR, such as SA8000 on Decent Working Conditions & ISO 14001 Environmental Management.

ISO 26000 has the ambition to be a comprehensive SR guideline that will enable all organisations to define their social responsibilities. The guideline tries to make the connection with existing and familiar systems, and aims to offer a framework for the (practical) translation of international treaties, agreements and conventions in the field of CSR. ISO 26000 makes the conundrum of dealing with the many possibly relevant aspects of CSR many organisations have, a little easier to solve, because the guideline contributes to obtaining a comprehensive but limited overview, and hence makes it easier for an organisation to engage in CSR.

The key points of IS0 2600 are illustrated on the diagram clauses 4 -7 (see figure 1) These are

Clause 4 - The CSR principles. These principles form the pillars of ISO 26000 and are related to all other parts of the guidance. They are recommended as the starting points for any organisation wanting to engage in CSR.

Clause 5 - According to ISO 26000 there are two fundamental practices that should underpin any CSR initiative. They are: recognising the social responsibilities of the organisation and entering into pro-active stakeholder engagement and management.

Clause 6 - The seven CSR core subjects with their 37 underlying CSR issues form the biggest part of the guideline. Together they define what CSR is all about and what can be expected of organisations on the different issues that might be relevant to them. The seven core subjects are: Organisational Governance, Human Rights, Labor Practices, The Environment, Fair Operating Practices, Consumer Issues and Community Involvement & Development.

Clause 7 - Finally, the guideline elaborates on the most important practices to fully integrate CSR throughout an organisation. Here, some important elements are: reviewing and improving CSR actions and practices, understanding the social responsibility of the organisation, communicating on CSR and linking with other voluntary initiatives.

ISO 26000 at the Deutsche Bank Netherlands

Beco has been working with the CSR project team of Deutsche Bank Netherlands in identifying their relevant and significant CSR issues and developing a strategy to deal with these issues and engage with their stakeholders. In several working group meetings the 37 CSR issues of ISO 26000 were analysed regarding their materiality, significance and the degree to which they fall within the sphere of influence of the Deutsche Bank. A distinction was made between the significance of the issues for the business operations of the Bank and the significance for the financial products and services they provide. For instance, Human Rights violations are far less likely to occur in relation to the employees of the Bank, but for their international clients in the apparel industry these might by highly significant issues and from a risk perspective worthwhile to address when engaging with these clients. The significant CSR issues have formed the priorities for the Bank, for these priorities action plans are currently being formulated. The action plans take into account the measures and actions which have already been taken in previous years.

The engagement with the stakeholders has been done from a strategic perspective. First the stakeholders were prioritised by setting two main criteria: what is their level of interest in the Bank? And, what is their level of influence on the Bank? This has led to the categorisation of the stakeholders in four categories: ‘encourage and influence’, ‘keep satisfied’, ‘keep informed’ and ‘monitor’. These categories are the starting point for the Bank to determine the method and level of engagement with each individual stakeholder on the issues that have been established as significant and a priority to the Bank. The next step will be to engage with the most important stakeholders specifically on sustainability to determine their expectations of the Bank regarding the different issues.

In conclusion, ISO 26000 has so far provided the Deutsche Bank with a comprehensive and helpful guideline to identify and prioritise their social responsibilities, develop an approach for stakeholder management and identify actions and challenges for integrating CSR into their business.


About the author: Timo Cochius is a CSR consultant at Beco and has consulted many companies on their CSR strategy and its implementation using ISO 26000. Furthermore, he is one of the authors of the book “ISO 26000 – The Business Guide to the new Standard on Social Responsibility”. For more information see: http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3092