JSA Newsletter

Report on the Seminar on ISO 26000 (Guidance on social responsibility)

1. Introduction

On June 14, 2011, the Seminar on ISO 26000 (Guidance on social responsibility) (hereinafter referred to as the "Seminar") was held on the theme "Summary of the Standard and Its Implementation" at the Conference Hall of JA Kyosai Building in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.

The Seminar was held in response to the publication of ISO 26000 on November 1, 2010, in order to promote understanding and implementation of the standard. It featured as speakers and panelists the members of 6 stakeholder groups (Consumer, Government, Industry, Labor, NGO, and SSRO(Service, Support, Research and Others)) under the ISO/SR National Committee that was involved in ISO 26000 standard development process. The Hall was filled to capacity at 250, and the seminar was a big success.

A summary of the Seminar is shown here.

Hall filled to capacity

2. Summary of the Seminar

The Seminar began with the opening speech by Prof. Tsuneo Matsumoto, Chair of the ISO/SR National Committee and professor at Hitotsubashi University. He spoke of the significance of ISO 26000 development and hopes for the standard.

Also, the promotion video produced by the working group on ISO 26000 development (hereinafter referred to as ISO/SR WG) (English title: I Have a Dream) was introduced and shown on screen. This video has been produced in 10 languages including Japanese and is shown on YouTube. The Japanese version can be viewed from the link on the top page of the ISO/SR National Committee website.

2.1. Lecture 1 - History of ISO 26000 Development

This was followed by a presentation on the development of ISO 26000, which took over 5 years for its publication, by ISO/SR National Committee member, Mr. Kenichi Kumagai (Deputy Secretary, Japan International Labour Foundation).

2.2. Lecture 2 - Summary of ISO 26000

Next, Mr. Masao Seki, member of ISO/SR National Committee and Associate Director/Chief CSR Officer for Sompo Japan Insurance Inc., gave a summary of ISO 26000.

2.3. Panel Discussion

A panel discussion, including a Q&A session on the lectures held in the 1st half, was held in the second half of the seminar.

The discussion was moderated by Prof. Tsuneo Matsumoto, chair of ISO/SR National Committee. Six members of the Committee and others representing the 6 stakeholder groups involved in preparation of ISO 26000 joined as panelists to present their views on the themes listed in Table 1. They were Committee members Eiichiro Adachi (Research Chief and Head of ESG Research Center, Japan Research Institute, Limited), Naoto Ohmi (Assistant General Secretary, Japanese Labor Union Confederation), Marino Osami (Advisor, Japan Consumers Association), Kenichi Kumagai (Deputy Secretary, Japan International Labour Federation), Kaori Kuroda (Co-Director, CSO Network Japan), Masao Seki (Associate Director/Chief CSR Officer, Sompo Japan Insurance, Inc.) and Morihiro Taba (Deputy Director, Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment Policy Division, Industrial Science Technology Policy and Environment Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry).

Table 1 -- Panel Discussion Themes

Theme 1	How to make use of ISO 26000, which is not a certification standard Clues to application and case studies How to deal with the core subjects Clues on activities by SMEs, etc.
Theme 2	What is the extent of the scope of responsibility for an organization? What is the relationship between "the sphere of influence" and "supply chain/value chain"? What is its relationship with the concept of "complicity"? How can the concept of "due diligence" be utilized in one's own organization?
Theme 3	The need, significance and benefits of stakeholder engagement and the ways of engagement
Theme 4	What are the activities of each stakeholder group in response to ISO 26000 publication? How does each stakeholder group plan to make use of ISO 26000? What aspects of ISO 26000 are each stakeholder group most interested?

Panel discussion in progress

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