*4.4. ISO 14001 and ISO 26000*

The two internationally respected standards referred to in connection with CSR were the environmental standard, ISO 14001, and the social responsibility standard, ISO 26000. These were only briefly discussed by respondents but were clearly important enough to be referred to without being prompted in the interviews (e.g., R3, R6, R7, R9). As a well-established and respected standard within the supply chain, ISO 14001 was a clear tool for continuous improvement and could provide clear guidance and measurement for addressing environmental issues as well as helping those in the business think about how the business operated. There was no reference made in the interviews to the updated 2015 standard although two ideas dominant within that revision were referred to, namely the need to influence the supply chain and to engage the whole organization in delivering environmental improvement. The latter concept was acknowledged as both essential and very difficult to achieve.

ISO 26000 was referred to less often than ISO 14001, but some hope was expressed that increasing interest in sustainability through the SDGs might lead to greater understanding of how ISO 26000 could increase acceptance of what business responsibility means. The lack of formal accreditation to ISO 26000 did seem to deter its use by reinforcing CSR as optional but, interestingly, one respondent (R7) said that whilst they were currently using the SDGs as a framework, they had committed to work towards ISO 26000 from 2019: R7 said this was largely because ISO 26000 enabled a clear definition of CSR and a common language to be used with stakeholders.
