© ISO 2007 - all rights reserved
55 The core issue of social development includes:
2359
Contribution to social development; 2360
Contribution to economic development; and
2361
Community involvement. 2362
6.8.2 Principles and considerations 2363
For guidance on social development principles see Clause 5 Principles of social responsibility. 2364
The following are considerations that an organization should take into account when addressing social 2365
development: 2366
Promotion of equitable treatment: organizations should promote equitable treatment with respect to
2367 criteria such as race, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age and
2368 disadvantage;
2369
Empowerment: Organizations should take actions that empower people to maximize their own 2370
capabilities, resources and opportunities; 2371
Work in partnership: combining capabilities in a partnership, such as the exchange of experience,
2372 resources and efforts among organizations, makes the combined social development actions more
2373 effective than any individual action. Partnerships can include many different types of organizations and
2374 can operate at international, national, regional or local level; and
2375
Promotion of equitable distribution of wealth and income. 2376
6.8.3 Social development issue 1: Contribution to social development
2377
6.8.3.1 Description of the issue 2378
Organizations can have positive and negative impacts on social development through all their operations, 2379
including those in their value chain. An organization that aligns its activities with the creation of a positive 2380
contribution to social development at an international, national or local level will create better relations with 2381
its stakeholders, an enhanced reputation, and more efficient risk management. 2382
To contribute to social development, organizations should promote awareness among citizens of their 2383
potential contribution to social development. Organizations should address issues such as public health 2384
and environmental degradation, as well as the provision of education and training, as they concern impacts 2385
throughout society that are crucial to social development. Moreover, the alleviation of poverty and hunger is 2386
central to social development, 2387
Because culture can have such a positive impact on social cohesion, cultural heritage is also part of social 2388
development. Organizations should promote and participate in the preservation of cultural heritage, which 2389
includes, for example art, language, traditional knowledge, as well as natural sites and places of 2390
archaeological or historical significance. 2391
2392
6.8.3.2 Related actions and or expectations
2393
a Citizenship awareness
2394 Organizations should have a major role in raising awareness by communicating to citizens the importance
2395 of their actions for social development.
2396 An organization should:
2397
Raise awareness of the rights and duties of citizens. For example, organizations can raise awareness 2398
of the importance of voting or the need to tackle corruption; and 2399
56
© ISO 2007 - all rights reserved
Support capacity building that will enable communities and citizens to participate in the formulation and
2400 implementation of public policies and expenditures.
2401
b Promotion of good health
2402 An organization should
2403
Promote good health, especially of their employees, by, for example, actions such as: 2404
Improving working conditions;
2405
Providing access to medicines and vaccination, for example by supporting vaccination 2406
programmes; 2407
Promoting healthy lifestyles, such as exercise and good eating habits; and
2408
Raising awareness about major diseases, such as HIVAIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. 2409
Provide support to employees and their families in gaining access to essential health care services;
2410 and
2411
Employ the highest levels of safety to protect the health of their workers and the community. 2412
For further guidance on health and safety, see Clauses 6.4 Labour practices and 6.5 The environment. 2413
c Promotion of culture and preservation of cultural heritage 2414
An organization should: 2415
Promote cultural activities to its stakeholders;
2416
Value the local culture and cultural traditions; 2417
Support cultural activities that strengthen the identity of minorities as a means of combating
2418 discrimination; and
2419
Help conserve and protect cultural heritage, especially where its activities may have an impact on 2420
cultural heritage. 2421
d Promotion of education
2422 An organization should:
2423
Promote andor support education at all levels for its employees and their families in partnership with 2424
public authorities; 2425
Encourage the enrolment of the children of its employees in formal education, for example primary
2426 school;
2427
Engage in actions to improve the quality of education and to eradicate illiteracy; 2428
Take action to eliminate the barriers to children obtaining an education, such as child labour; and
2429
Promote education and training that contribute to lifelong learning, particularly for its employees. 2430
© ISO 2007 - all rights reserved
57 2431
Box 12 Examples for promotion of education 2432
A large company installs classrooms at its factories for its employees to complete primary and secondary 2433
schooling. 2434
A government gives financial aid to poor families to help them keep their children at school as a means of 2435
promoting education and combating child labour. 2436
2437
e Contribution to alleviation of poverty and hunger 2438
An organization should: 2439
Contribute to employment and income generation, bearing in mind the value of including minority
2440 groups. This can be done through its core activities andor investments in social programmes;
2441
Contribute to programmes that provide access to food for disadvantaged people, taking into account 2442
the importance of increasing their capabilities, resources and opportunities; and 2443
Support social entrepreneurship ventures and the development of technologies that are low cost, easily
2444 replicable and have a high social impact on poverty and hunger eradication.
2445 2446
Box 13 Examples of contribution to alleviation of poverty and hunger
2447 An NGO collaborates with the government to build cisterns that provide access to drinking water during
2448 droughts.
2449 A local government develops a programme to support subsistence production in rural areas.
2450 A financial institution develops a micro credit programme.
2451 2452
6.8.4 Social development issue 2: Contribution to economic development 2453
