Empower your organisation’s responsible business practices
In today’s business environment, social responsibility is not optional. ISO 26000 provides authoritative guidance for organisations committed to ethical, sustainable, and stakeholder-aware operations. At Intertek, we bring global expertise and local insight to help you embed social responsibility across your activities with confidence and credibility.
What is ISO 26000?
ISO 26000 is a guidance standard on social responsibility designed for organisations of all types, sizes and sectors. Rather than prescribing requirements, ISO 26000 helps organisations translate principles into practical actions, enhancing their performance across environmental, social and governance dimensions.
The standard was developed through a broad international stakeholder process, involving government, non-governmental organisations, industry, consumer and labour groups.
Why your organisation should implement ISO 26000
Adopting ISO 26000-aligned practices helps your organisation:
- Demonstrate leadership in responsible business and sustainability
- Build stakeholder trust by aligning with globally recognised guidance
- Integrate social responsibility into strategy and operations rather than treating it as an add-on
- Address key subjects including human rights, labour practices, environmental responsibility, community engagement and fair operating practices
- Enhance resilience and reputation in a marketplace increasingly shaped by ESG expectations
Key subject areas of ISO 26000
ISO 26000 outlines seven core subjects of social responsibility that organisations should consider:
- Organisational governance
- Human rights
- Labour practices
- The environment
- Fair operating practices
- Consumer issues
- Community involvement and development
How Intertek supports your ISO 26000 journey
With our global network of auditors, sustainability experts and technical specialists, Intertek offers a full suite of services to support your ISO 26000 alignment. These include:
- Gap and readiness assessments: Evaluate your current practices against ISO 26000 guidance and identify improvement opportunities.
- Training and workshops: Tailored sessions for senior leadership and operational teams on stakeholder engagement, materiality, issue identification and strategic integration of social responsibility.
- Stakeholder-engagement facilitation: Support in mapping, identifying and engaging your key stakeholders—helping your organisation to prioritise social responsibility issues that matter most.
- Integration with management systems: Ensuring that social responsibility is aligned with existing systems (quality, environmental, health & safety) to deliver efficiency and coherence.
- Continuous improvement support: With Intertek’s global presence you gain access to best practices, benchmarking, and expert insight from multiple industries and geographies.
Tailored solutions for your sector
Whether you operate in manufacturing, retail, food & beverage, energy or services, Intertek’s industry-specific expertise means we speak your language. Our approach is grounded in your business context so you can practically apply ISO 26000 guidance and demonstrate credible progress to your customers, regulators and stakeholders.
Your path to credible social responsibility
- Conduct an initial gap assessment to identify your current position against ISO 26000.
- Engage with key stakeholders and assess material social responsibility issues aligned with your strategy.
- Develop and implement action plans to integrate practices across the seven core subjects.
- Monitor, measure and report your performance—and communicate responsibly to build trust and accountability.
- Review and refine your approach continuously to stay ahead of evolving expectations and drive long-term value.
- Obtain an independent third-party verification of your organisation’s alignment with ISO 26000, demonstrating credibility, accountability and responsible business conduct to customers, investors and stakeholders.
Why choose Intertek
At Intertek you benefit from one of the most comprehensive global assurance networks in the sustainability field. With presence in over 100 countries and thousands of experts, we deliver consistent quality and actionable insights at local level. Our brand promise “Total Quality. Assured.” means we support you not only to comply but to lead.
Get started
Contact our social responsibility experts today to discuss how to align your organisation with ISO 26000 and build a credible responsible-business framework.
Frequently Asked Questions
ISO 26000 is an international guidance standard that helps organisations understand and apply principles of social responsibility. It provides a framework for responsible governance, human rights, labour practices, environmental stewardship, fair operating practices, consumer protection and community involvement.
No. ISO 26000 is not a certification standard and does not include requirements. It provides guidance that organisations can use to align their strategies and practices with internationally accepted expectations of social responsibility.
ISO 26000 is designed for all types of organisations. It applies to private sector companies, public sector bodies, non-profits and any organisation that seeks to improve social responsibility performance.
ISO 26000 helps organisations build trust with stakeholders, strengthen governance, integrate social responsibility into decision making, improve environmental and social performance and enhance brand reputation. It also supports organisations in demonstrating responsibility across their supply chains.
Intertek provides gap assessments, training, advisory support, stakeholder engagement facilitation and conformance certification to the ISO 26000 guidance standard. Our experts help you apply ISO 26000 guidance in a practical way and align responsible business practices with your wider sustainability strategy.
ISO 26000 complements established management system standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. It helps organisations broaden their focus beyond compliance and into broader social responsibility priorities.
ISO 26000 includes seven core subjects: organisational governance, human rights, labour practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues and community involvement and development.
Most organisations begin with a gap assessment to understand current performance. From there, Intertek can support the development of action plans, training, stakeholder engagement, integration with existing systems and continuous improvement activities.
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