Use of ISO26000 by Different Stakeholders in Japan

November 7-8 2012
ISO26000 International Workshop
Geneva, Switzerland

Prepared by an informal group of former ISO/SR Mirror Committee members of Japan____________________________________________________________________For an inquiry, please contact Kaori Kuroda (CSO Network Japan/ NGO Network for SR
Initiatives Japan) at kaori@csonj.org, former Japanese NGO Expert to ISO/TMB Working
Group on Social Responsibility.

1Listed are some examples of use of ISO26000 by different stakeholders in Japan. Pleasenote that this is not a complete list.
Japanese Industrial Standards Committee / Japan Standards Association
Japan officially adopted ISO26000 as a national standard JISZ26000 in March 2012. Acommittee was set up with core members of the former ISO/SR mirror committee tofinalize a draft of this national standard. The JISZ26000 includes a commentary by Mr.
Kenichi Kumagai, a member of IDTF, Mr. Masao Seki, Japan Industry expert and Mr.
Tadashi Saito, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Expert of BIAC to the OECD.
INDUSTRY■KEIDANREN (Japan Business Federation) Charter of Corporate Behavior
KEIDANREN revised its Charter of Corporate Behavior and its implementation guidein order to encourage member corporations by incorporating core elements of ISO26000
to further promote CSR on their own effort in September 2010. The Charter is includedin the Annex JA of JISZ26000.
In addition to the introductory briefing session of ISO26000 in February 2011,
KEIDNREN held a series of workshops for member companies in March 2011 and May
2011, both of which focused more on the sharing good practices of ISO26000 already inuse.
Charter of Corporate Behavior
KEIDANREN (Japan Business Federation)

September 14, 2010

FORWARDKEIDANREN (Japan Business Federation) has always made efforts to build vibrant andaffluent society that is self-regulated and led by the private sector. To realize such society,corporations and individuals alike should demonstrate lofty ethical values, recognize that theirsocial responsibility goes beyond merely compliance with laws and regulations, and actively
participate in solving various relevant issues. To steadfastly and firmly encourage member
corporations to voluntarily undertake these tasks, KEIDANREN established its Charter ofCorporate Behavior in 1991 and compiled the Implementation Guidance in 1996. The Charterand the Guidance have subsequently been revised several times to reflect changes in economic
and social conditions.
In recent years, the idea that all organizations should realize and discharge theirsocial responsibility for sustainable development of society, a concept demonstrated by ISO
26000 (International Standard: Guidance on social responsibility), has spread around theworld. In particular, while the presence of corporations is indispensable for the economic
development of society in terms of their capacity to generate income and employment,
corporations should realize the great impacts they have on society as well as the2environment and take the initiative to discharge their Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR).
Specifically, corporations should seek dialogue with a wide range of their stakeholders,
including shareholders, investors, consumers, business counterparts, employees and the local
community, and earn their trust by responding to their expectations, such as continuing topursue greater efforts to ensure consumer safety and promoting eco-friendly activities.
Corporations should discharge their social responsibility not only within their corporate groups,but they should also promote socially responsible behavior within their supply chain.
Furthermore, in response to the growing public interest on human rights and poverty, it
becomes important for corporations to tackle these issues from a global perspective.
In view of the recent changes surrounding the concept of corporate social responsibility,
KEIDANREN has revised its Charter of Corporate Behavior in order to encourage member
corporations to further promote CSR on their own effort. Member corporations should continue
to contribute toward social development by creating quality goods and services, while taking
the ethical aspects of their activities into full account. Member corporations should once again
realize the intimate relationship that exists in the development of a corporation and society, andconduct business activities from a comprehensive perspective of their economic, environmental
and social aspects, so that these activities will lead to sustainable development of society.
Member corporations, therefore, pledge to comply with the spirit of the Charter of Corporate
Behavior as laid down below and implement the Charter on their own initiative.

* English translation of its full text is freely available in Keidanren's web site:
http://www.keidanren.or.jp/en/policy/csr/tebiki6.pdf■Current use of corporations(1)

Actively adopt ISO26000 into their CSR activities in an entire organization…16.7%(2)

Collect information on ISO26000…43.6%(3)

Take interest in the Standard but have not collected enough information on it…32.1%(4)

Are not interested in ISO26000…6.4%(5)

Other…1.3%

Source: “The result of the survey with regard to ISO26000” by Cetus & General Press 2011 October3

■■Examples of some companies’ use of ISO26000
Category of Business

Use of ISO26000Company A Electric

Began to incorporate ISO26000 into thecompany’s management in 2011.

Company B Food

Researched based on ISO26000 and examines
concerning the use of the standard.

Company C Pharmaceutical

Used seven core subjects as a framework for
promoting CSR and stressed an importance of“Due diligence” and “Stakeholder engagement”
since 2011. Identified and Disclosed humanrights issues in the value chain of the company
in view of due diligence.

Company D Chemical

Respect ISO26000 and plans to use PDCA cycle
based on it.

Company E

In order to identify and promote significant CSR
issues, used ISO26000 as a self-assessment tool
to accurate the strength and weakness of thecompany.

Financial

Reference: Excerpts from NKSJ-RM Report, “ISO26000 no gaiyo to jissen oyobi riyou
joukyou’ or ‘An overview of ISO26000 and the implementation and use of the Standard.’■Small and medium enterprises
ISO/SR Mirror Committee and Japan Standard Association developed and published asupplement tool to ISO26000 for small and medium-sized companies. The tool consistsof an overview of the Standard, a commentary and examples of ISO26000 use by someSMEs.
LABOUR
Labour unions have been monitoring social responsibility of companies and suggesting
SR to the management while promoting “Union Social Responsibility” or USR among
union members by dissemination of the concept, consultation, awareness raising,promotion of women participation and so on. Unions have also been engaged with thefollowing activities with reference to ISO26000:l Participation in and supporting voluntary activitiesl Implementation of RENGO ECOLIFE 21*l Promotion of Social Responsibility Investment (of Workers’ Capital)4lParticipation in ITUC’s (International Trade Union Confederation) World Day forDecent Work*RENGO Eco-Life 21 is a movement developed by RENGO for promoting
environment-friendly lifestyle to 670 million union members as well as their family members.
The detailed information is available at http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/RENGO_2.pdf■Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO)RENGO had participated in development of ISO26000 in a close relationship with
ITUC from the beginning.
RENGO published "Guidelines for the Responsible Investment of Workers'
Capital" in January 2011. The Guidelines are included in the Annex JA of JISZ26000.
RENGO has been promoting the Guidelines to affiliated unions through symposium andby dispatching lecturers to study meetings voluntarily organized by unions.
RENGO “Guidelines for the Responsible Investment of Workers' Capital”
INTRODUCTION
Workers’ capital refers to funds which have been contributed by workers and/or on their behalf,
the most representative form of which is for example a pension fund.
Considering that workers (their trade unions) have through the management of workers’
capital such as pension funds a substantial influence on companies and society, they as owners
of workers’ capital shall recognize their social and environmental responsibility to exclude
investment contributing to anti-social corporate conduct and to establish a fair market.
RENGO Guidelines on Responsible Investment of Workers’ Capital, in the light of theresponsibility and authority inherent in the owners of workers’ capital, constitute a course forindustrial federations of trade unions and company-based trade unions to practice responsible
investment of pension funds and other workers’ capital.
RENGO will request that the bodies managing the reserves of the public pension schemes,
including the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) - the world’s largest pension fundengage in responsible investment.

* English translation of its full text is freely available in Keidanren's web site:
http://www.jtuc-rengo.or.jp/kurashi/sekinin_toushi/data/20101216_workers_capital_en.pdf■■Examples of use of ISO26000 by some affiliates of RENGO
Seiho Roren

Seiho Roren made item points centered on the5(National Federation of Life
Insurance Workers’ Unions)seven core subjects of ISO26000 and urge theirmember unions to prioritize the issues and deal
with them.
Seiho Roren also compiled and published goodpractices of CSR activities at workplace. This
resulted in heightening morale of the workplace,
raising a retention rate and receiving a favorable
reputation from customers.

UI Zensen
The Japanese Federation of Textile,
Chemical, Food, Commercial,
Service and General Workers'Unions

UI Zensen established CSR guidelines(Guidelines on how to address the issue ofcorporate social responsibility). UI Zensen
requests information disclosure of the following
as they believe that transparency is a key
principle to implementation of the concept ofISO26000:l

Human rightsl

Employmentl

Labour-Management relationsl

WageslWorking HourslHealth and Safety at Workl

Health (including Mental health)l

Employment of the disabled and senior citizensl

Support for Human Resource and careerdevelopment

Toppan Trade UnionlSupport for Family-Friendly Work-life Balancel

WomenlPhilanthropy

Toppan trade union participated in creation ofToppan’s CSR report in 2012. The company’s
CSR policy and activities were drasticallyreviewed based on the seven core subjects ofISO26000 in their report. Concrete goals of eachcore subject were set, based on which theperformance was checked and assessed. It wasclearly stated that the Trade Union’s
participation in the report as a key stakeholder

6and stressed that workers and management dealt
together with the issue of work-life balance andmental health in the report.
NGO (NON-GOVERNMENTAL & NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS)■NGO Network for SR Initiatives Japan (NN-Net)
Several nonprofit organizations gathered together and established NGO Network for SR
Initiatives Japan with an aim to actively participating in development of ISO26000.
Currently, a total of 36 social and environmental organizations and nonprofit
networks/intermediary organizations throughout the country are members of theNetwork. NN-Net has been making ISO26000 widely known among Japanese NGOs
and society through publication of a booklet on social responsibility (2010) and acommentary of ISO26000 (2011) and organization of seminars and workshops on
ISO26000. NN-Net organized a two-day bi-annual forum on social responsibility withmulti-stakeholders in 2008 and 2012.
NN-Net also promotes stakeholder engagement and multi-stakeholder process
in dealing with social and environmental challenges in communities, in particular. As an
NGO stakeholder, NN-Net actively participates in Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Social
Responsibility for a Sustainable Future set up by the Cabinet Office of Japan in 2009,
together with representatives from the business sector, consumers groups, labour unions,the financial sector and government. KEIDANREN and RENGO are also active
members of this Forum.
*Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Social Responsibility for a Sustainable Future(http://sustainability.go.jp/forum/english/index.html)■■Examples of use of ISO26000 by some NN-Net members outside Tokyo
Okayama NPO Center

Okayama NPO Center organized a series of seminars on
ISO26000 for staff of nonprofit organization and social
welfare corporations (2010 May – 2011 February). The
objectives of the seminars are to promote theunderstanding the Standard and improve social
responsibility of nonprofit organizations. In one seminar,
the participants reviewed their organization andmanagement based on the seven core subject of
ISO26000. After the series, they went back to their own

7organizations and shared the findings from the seminars.
Social Responsibility
Platform

Social Responsibility Platform is organizing a series of
ISO26000 seminars for CSR managers in corporations.
The seminars include a case study of good practices of
ISO26000 use of companies.

Partnership Support Center

Partnership Support Center (PSC) facilitated astakeholder dialogue for some SMEs. PSC analyzed
requests and views raised from stakeholders in view ofISO26000, based on which PSC suggested amanagement plan to the SMEs. Through thisengagement, both SMEs and stakeholders became quite
confident about promotion of ISO26000 among SMEs.

MULTI-STAKEHOLDER INITIATIVES■CSR Review ForumCSR Review Forum (CRF) is a private, non-profit organization made up of more than
10 private organizations (NGOs, consumer groups, labour organizations) andindividuals that are working on the frontlines to resolve social issues, and act as anadvocate for sustainable development. CSR offers companies an opportunity to evaluateand get feedback on their CSR activities. To his end, CRF provides a platform forengagement between companies and an alliance of NGOs, consumer groups and labourorganizations. Their review is based on the seven principles and seven core subjects ofISO26000. The results of the review are provided in the form of a “Stakeholders
Opinion Paper. “■■A case of NEC
The NEC Group implemented a Stakeholder Review on ISO26000 approach by CRF in2011 and 2012 consecutively. In 2012, the review focused on the progress of initiatives
to tackle issues identified in the fiscal 2011 review, while also broadly examining theGroup following the seven core subjects of the Standard.
The results of the Review are available in NEC’s website at
http://www.nec.com/en/global/csr/report2012/stakeholder/iso_review.html

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