62
© ISO 2007 - all rights reserved
its vision, policy and strategy, as well as its relationship with stakeholders and its daily practices. To make 2633
progress and allow for accountability, an organization should review and communicate its activities and 2634
progress. All these activities are interdependent. This standard is intended to be compatible with and 2635
should be integrated into an organization’s existing models, strategies and practices. 2636
7.2 Understanding the context of social responsibility 2637
7.2.1 Key considerations 2638
An organization needs specific information and analysis to develop its vision, mission, strategies, objectives 2639
and targets to integrate social responsibility into its activities, goods and services. This information 2640
gathering and analysis is best done in a way that enables an organization to understand the social, 2641
environmental and economic context in which it operates. Key components of this effort may include 2642
understanding an organization’s profile, analyzing the boundaries and context of its social responsibility and 2643
understanding its stakeholders’ concerns, particularly with respect to its core issues concerning social 2644
responsibility see Clause 6. 2645
7.2.2 Understanding an organization’s profile 2646
Before an organization begins establishing and implementing an approach for addressing issues of social 2647
responsibility, it should collect and evaluate specific information to better understand its current profile. This 2648
information may include: 2649
Key goods and services, locationsgeographic scope and organizational structure of operations,
2650 governance structure, workforce make-up, annual income and expenses and other quantitative
2651 information;
2652
The degree to which an organization’s activities and practices conform to identified internal and 2653
external requirements through for example, reviewing litigation records, audit trends, regulatory 2654
enforcement records, adopted codes or other records; 2655
Key goals and recent performance in achieving those goals;
2656
Recent and anticipated major changes in goods, services, activities, strategies or policies; 2657
Projections of the current and likely future trends in the field of work or sector; and
2658
Key strengths and competencies including human and other resource needs. 2659
7.2.3 Analyzing the boundaries and context of social responsibility
2660 An organization should identify and analyze the issues of social responsibility material to it and its
2661 stakeholders and evaluate the context for those issues see Clause 6. This may involve assessing the
2662 boundaries of social responsibility within an organization and its supply chain [upstream, downstream and
2663 sideways] and within its stakeholder network. These will help identify the issues of social responsibility that
2664 may be prioritized for action. Within its boundaries of social responsibility, an organization should take
2665 responsibility based on laws, conventions andor ethics. In addition, within its sphere of influence, an
2666 organization should seek to affect the socially responsible actions of other organizations. Outside its sphere
2667 of influence, an organization is less likely to be held accountable by stakeholders.
2668 This boundary assessment can identify the issues of social responsibility that may have an actual or
2669 potential significant [material] impact or be controlled or affected by an organization’s own activities, goods
2670 and services. It also can identify entities within the supply chain and stakeholder network [stakeholder map]
2671 that an organization can control or reasonably influence, that is, those within its sphere of influence. It can
2672 identify the actual or potential significant [material] impacts of social responsibility that may be generated by
2673
© ISO 2007 - all rights reserved
63 those organizations. Within the supply chain, degrees of control and impact may be related to the size,
2674 complexity and types of organizations in the supply chain, as well as an organization’s competitive situation
2675 and the number of organizations within the supply chain.
2676 The evaluation of information on the context can include:
2677
Understanding the trends concerning the significant [material] issues of social responsibility; 2678
Identifying what actions have already been taken and progress made by an organization and
2679 its supply chain in addressing the significant [material] issues of social responsibility;
2680
Identifying progress on any existing goals of social responsibility; and 2681
Analyzing the potential opportunities, risks and challenges posed by the significant [material]
2682 issues of social responsibility over the short and long term.
2683 Several questions can be helpful in evaluating the context:
2684
Which operational activities are contravening international laws, treaties, protocols or conventions? 2685
Which processes, procedures, activities, actions or existing socially responsible activities of an
2686 organization are not in keeping with, or even in conflict with, an organization’s strategy and objectives
2687 for social responsibility?
2688
Which elements of an organization’s culture for example, operational values, norms, basic beliefs and 2689
convictions, are contributing to the realization of the strategy and commitment for social responsibility? 2690
Conversely, which of these are not contributing and need to be changed? 2691
7.2.4 Understanding stakeholder concerns 2692
