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Social responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and governance are areas that no service organization can afford to ignore. They are an integral part of best practice within all industry sectors. Our social responsibility standards can help service organizations of every size deliver on these commitments.

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Explore how standards can help you embed a culture of corporate social responsibility into your operations

Corporate social responsibility and the global service supply chain
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Corporate social responsibility and the global service supply chain

Regardless of size or sector, social responsibility is something that no organization can afford to ignore. More than ever before, corporate leadership teams in service organizations have a responsibility to consider the broader societal implications of the provision of their services.  Businesses must act in a way that is ethical, considering social, economic, and environmental impact – not to mention the conservation of human rights. The advantages are significant when organizational activity is aligned with social responsibility standards. Greater public trust, improved reputation and international trade opportunities, optimized risk management, and an increased competitive edge are just a few. The importance of social responsibility in the service supply chain The supply chain presents several challenges for service organizations seeking to work in a consistently responsible manner.  To maintain or implement appropriate social responsibility policies, companies need to extend their view of supplier networks beyond the first tier and look well beyond the company walls. Yet despite the best intentions, many organizations struggle to manage large, complex networks of suppliers in a way that is efficient, measurable and that drives continuous improvement to ensure social responsibilities are met. As consumer and shareholder expectations continue to increase, strong social and environmental performance in the service supply chain is key. Businesses are now accountable on all fronts for aligning their brand values with supply chain capability. Failing to do so can cause long-lasting damage to brand perceptions, risking the loyalty and esteem of both customers and partners.  The connection between social responsibility and supply chain management also has a direct effect on financial performance: structured properly, a fair and up-to-date supply chain policy creates a win-win situation for both buyer and supplier. What’s more, in addition to growing societal demands, governments have begun to regulate social practices to identify and mitigate risk – making visibility and transparency a top priority all the way down the chain.  To learn more on the topic of risk and resilience in the services industry, click here. Creating a responsible service supply chain with corporate social responsibility standards A standards-based approach is the best way to establish a responsible supply chain.  Through the implementation of internationally recognized service standards and effective supplier engagement, businesses can work toward shared goals that benefit the entire value chain to maintain a leadership position when it comes to social responsibility. BS 8950 Social value. Understanding and enhancing. Guide has been developed to help users identify, preserve and enhance their organization’s social value. It focuses on the collection and use of appropriate data for making decisions about social value in all types and sizes of business activity, and creates a framework for measuring social value, building on and linking to existing principles and frameworks. BS ISO 44001 on collaborative business relationship management systems can also help. It specifies requirements to develop and manage contractual relationships, helping businesses to implement and optimize their systems. Another useful standard is BS EN ISO 31000, which provides a common approach to managing risk at all levels. Its structure allows businesses to mitigate social responsibility risks across the supply chain, developing plans for evaluating environmental and social compliance, as well as ethical sourcing and development. e competence, enabling organizations to build towards a supply chain in which all parties share responsibility and approach risk management appropriately. In line with this, it is wise to consider specific standards on environmental management and sustainability, such as BS EN ISO 14001 to introduce an environmental management system and BS EN ISO 20400 on sustainable procurement. BS EN ISO 14001 puts environmental management at the heart of a service organization’s operations to help meet regulations and improve efficiency and performance across the supply chain. Similarly, BS ISO 20400 helps organizations introduce sustainable procurement processes, improving the performance of all supply chain partners and ultimately increasing overall reputation and value. Finally, in today’s ever-changing digital landscape it’s never been more important to apply an ethical approach to managing information risk. Service organizations are challenged to maintain effective privacy and security protocols to protect both consumer and organizational data.  Information must be used appropriately, under safe and secure management, throughout the supply chain – and prevention measures established to guard against cybersecurity incidents. The BS EN ISO/IEC 27000 series of standards guide the creation and implementation of an information security management system (ISMS). Ensure that the provision of your services is positively impacting society and the environment by adding these standards to your collection today. Discover BSI Knowledge BS ISO 20400 and over 100,000 more internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. In your trust-critical industry, our subscription service puts the control in your hands, with traceability to monitor and demonstrate your business's compliance to standards, and self-serve functionality that enables you to manage your subscriptions, standards, users, and content quickly and simply. Request to learn more.Read more
Say no to corruption: Shaping a fairer world with standards
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Say no to corruption: Shaping a fairer world with standards

The global economic cost of corruption is simply astounding, and it undermines the efforts of all countries to improve the lives of their citizens. The World Economic Forum estimated, in 2018, that $3.6 trillion, or 5% of global GDP, was lost to corruption. Despite many countries’ best efforts, that situation hasn’t improved, and it is the poor and most vulnerable in the world who suffer the most from the impacts of corruption. Systemic bribery, among other things, lowers economic growth and discourages investment. It goes hand in hand with poverty and social inequality. 2021 has been a landmark year for global anti-corruption action with efforts to step up anti-corruption initiatives and accelerate the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption – the only global and truly comprehensive legally binding instrument against this crime. For the UN Global Agenda 2030 to take hold, renewed attention and focus must be given to curbing all forms and manifestations of corruption worldwide. To read about which standards support fairness in public sector procurement, click here. The benefits of anti-corruption standards to your organization Standards are developed using a consensus-driven approach, built on a foundation of proven good practices. The standards developers themselves are drawn from the ranks of the world’s best experts in their respective fields. Consequently, the published standards are designed to be applicable to all organizations, regardless of size, industry sector, geographical location, or political persuasion. This means that standards can provide consistent benchmarks, better practices, and common methodologies that all organizations can leverage and adopt. BS ISO 37001:2025 Anti-bribery management systems – Requirements with guidance for use is an international standard produced to help organizations prevent, detect, and tackle bribery. It also covers compliance with anti-bribery legislation and what organizations can do voluntarily to protect themselves, via the use of management systems. It has been well received around the globe, by large companies and countries alike, for its value in the fight against bribery and corruption. BS ISO 37000:2021 Governance of organizations. Guidance gives guidance for the governance of organizations, supplying principles, key aspects of practices, and a framework to guide governing bodies and governing groups on how to meet their responsibilities so that organizations can fulfill their purpose. Governance helps organizations achieve their purpose in an effective and responsible way and meet rising societal expectations around accountability, fairness, and ethics. BS ISO 37000:2021 supplies authoritative and comprehensive guidance on what governance is and how to do it well. BS ISO 37002:2021 Whistleblowing management systems. Guidelines provides a framework for establishing a clear and robust whistleblowing system within an organization. It is the first international standard on this topic. Whistleblowing is an important issue for all types and sizes of organizations, globally. Creating a protective environment where people can confidently report concerns is crucial to the effective prevention of and dealing with wrongdoing. BS ISO 37301:2021 Compliance management systems. Requirements with guidance for use specifies requirements and provide guidelines for establishing, developing, implementing, evaluating, maintaining, and improving an effective compliance management system within an organization. When compliance is well managed, it helps organizations to detect and prevent breaches, thus reducing their risk of fines and lawsuits. Taken all together, these standards can be used to provide a more integrated approach to the global fight against corruption. The BS ISO 37000 series and over 100,000 more internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. In your trust-critical industry, our subscription service puts the control in your hands, with traceability to monitor and demonstrate your business's compliance to standards, and self-serve functionality that enables you to manage your subscriptions, standards, users, and content quickly and simply. Request to learn more. Ensure your organization is doing everything it can to combat corruption and unfair practices, by adding these key standards to your organization today.
Fighting modern slavery with BS 25700
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Fighting modern slavery with BS 25700

Modern slavery can affect any business, in any sector and across supply chains. It is now time for every organization to effectively manage the risk of modern slavery. And our pioneering new standard can help. Modern slavery includes recruitment, transport, receipt and harbouring of people to exploit their labour, and it affects almost all parts of the world. Globally, it’s estimated that there are over 40 million men, women and children in situations of modern slavery. These victims are forced to work for little or no pay, deprived of their freedom and often subjected to unimaginable suffering. And both the COVID-19 crisis and recent war in Europe have only exacerbated the issue – leaving thousands of people at risk from these practices. Any association with modern slavery has the potential to damage an organization’s reputation in a serious and potentially permanent way. It creates the image of an untrustworthy business that puts profits before the welfare of its workers and other stakeholders. Companies may also face backlash from consumers if they are found to be implicated. Far more must be done to bridge the gap between policy and practice. BSI is at the forefront of helping organizations understand what actions they can take to eradicate this global problem. As the National Standards Body (NSB) in the UK, BSI plays a vital role in helping businesses to adopt best practices and align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. BS 25700 Organizational responses to modern slavery is a pioneering British standard that provides guidance on managing the risk of modern slavery, through prevention, identification, response, remediation, mitigation, and reporting modern slavery in operations and supply chains. It provides organizations with guidance for managing the risk of modern slavery, including prevention, identification, response, remediation, mitigation, and reporting modern slavery in its operations, supply chains and its wider operating environment. We support campaigners, like Baroness Young and others, as they call for Governments to re-prioritize modern slavery. To support this important topic, where we all need to play a role to enable positive change, BSI is pleased to make our BS 25700 standard free to download. Slavery in the supply chain To manage the risk of modern slavery, businesses must first recognize that it is a current and prevalent problem, often hidden in plain sight. Slavery can exist in all stages of the supply chain, including the procurement manufacture shipping and delivery of goods and services to consumers. This is because long and complex supply chains, often seen in the food, retail and manufacturing sectors, make it difficult to oversee who is working where and under what conditions. Companies have a legal and social responsibility to ensure that modern slavery has not been used in the production of the goods they sell. For example, the UK Modern Slavery Act requires larger businesses to report on the steps they take to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains. BS EN ISO 26000 is the British Standard giving organizations guidance on social responsibility. Learn more about this standard here. How to manage the risk of modern slavery Further work is needed by organizations to effectively manage the risk of modern slavery especially in their supply chains. The growing scrutiny of supply chains regarding social responsibility, organizational impact and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) reporting means that it has never been more important for your business to manage the risk of modern slavery. BS 25700 provides a structured approach to the development, implementation, evaluation, and review of the risk management of modern slavery by taking a ‘risk to people’ view instead of a ‘risk to organization’ view. It encourages organizations to go beyond legal and statutory duties and address the wider risks associated with modern slavery. The benefits of BS 25700 to businesses include: A holistic approach to addressing modern slavery that puts people at the heart of an organization Effective management of the risk of modern slavery in a way that supports human rights due diligence Demonstration of organizational commitment to ESG which helps build confidence in your organization’s governance and ethics Positive business reputation Increased sales and customer loyalty, as consumers seek businesses with higher ethical standards Greater ability to attract talent and staff retention Improved investor confidence More responsive and stable supply chains This standard is applicable to all organizations, regardless of size and sector because organizations of all types and sizes can be responsible for modern slavery practices in their supply and value chains. BSI is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This standard contributes to a number of SDGs but in particular supports SDG 8.7: End Modern Slavery, Trafficking and Child Labour. Help us a build a better world by managing the risk of modern slavery in your supply chain. Download your copy of BS 25700 today.
Is your business doing all it can to support vulnerable consumers?
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Is your business doing all it can to support vulnerable consumers?

BS ISO 22458 is a new international standard that can help your business design and deliver fair, flexible and inclusive services that will increase positive outcomes for consumers in vulnerable situations and minimize the risk of consumer harm. Vulnerability can affect anyone at any time. Ill health, financial difficulties, mental health problems, or life events such as bereavement or relationship breakdown can all place consumers in vulnerable situations. This can make it hard for consumers to understand information, choose suitable services or products, and make decisions. They risk being denied access to services, signing up for inappropriate contracts, or making unsuitable purchases as a result. Our newly published standard BS ISO 22458 can help businesses to identify, understand and support vulnerable customers, making it easier for their customers to make smart and informed choices. In turn, this can lead to better outcomes for consumers and increased customer satisfaction. What is consumer vulnerability? Consumer vulnerability is defined as a ‘state in which an individual can be placed at risk of harm during their interaction with a service provider due to the presence of personal, situational and market environment factors’. Whilst there are some consumers who are more likely to be at risk of harm, such as people with chronic illness, cognitive impairments, learning difficulties, and physical disabilities, it is ultimately how businesses act that makes all the difference. If organizations do not act with appropriate care, they can create or exacerbate vulnerability. A consumer in a vulnerable situation may not experience harm if their service provider offers adequate support. How to recognize consumer risk Any one of us could become vulnerable due to a change in personal circumstances. Losing a job, bereavement, developing a medical condition, dealing with addiction, or struggling with literacy and numeracy; there are many reasons why someone might become temporarily or permanently vulnerable and susceptible to harm. The COVID-19 pandemic has created or exacerbated vulnerability for many people, particularly in these areas: Financial hardship - in early 2021, the UK unemployment rate rose above 5% for the first time since 2016 and almost four million workers were on furlough. The hardest hit sectors included hospitality and retail, where many jobs were already insecure and poorly paid. Mental health - UK depression rates are estimated to have doubled since the pandemic began, with a disproportionate impact on young people, women, disabled people, and those living in deprived areas. One in five adults (19.2%) experienced some form of depression. Bereavement - more than 180,000 people in the UK have died from COVID-19, often in very difficult circumstances without hospital visits or a full funeral. Bereaved people may face challenging emotional and financial circumstances as a result. Physical health - approximately 1.1 million people are living with long COVID symptoms such as fatigue, muscle pain, and difficulty concentrating. Those aged 35-69 years, women, those in deprived areas, and people in health or social care professions are the worst impacted. COVID also impacted other areas of health care: between April 2020 and May 2021, there were 3.63 million fewer elective procedures and 23.67 million fewer outpatient attendances. Digital exclusion - digital technology has been used to facilitate the contactless provision of goods and services during the pandemic. But access to technology can be restricted by not having a device or connection, lacking skills, or another condition such as a disability. This results in digital exclusion. Age, region, socioeconomic status, and having a disability all increase the risk of being on the wrong side of the digital divide. For example, 76% of UK adults use online banking, but this figure falls to 49% of those aged 65+. It is vital for all businesses to be able to identify where their consumers might be vulnerable to harm and support them by providing an inclusive service. Organizations also need to be aware of how these risks impact their consumers differently. For example, one person’s experience of mental health problems might have no impact on their ability to manage financially, whereas another person might struggle. To learn more about how you can support your consumers and workforce, visit our Diversity & Inclusion Topic Page. Why should you adopt BS ISO 22458? BS ISO 22458 is a pioneering new international standard that specifies requirements and guidelines for organizations on how to design and deliver fair, flexible, and inclusive services that will increase positive outcomes for consumers and minimize the risk of harm. It covers organizational culture and strategy, inclusive design, and how to identify and respond to consumer vulnerability. BS ISO 22458 is applicable to any organization that provides services, including service-related products, to consumers, regardless of location or size. Adopting a consumer vulnerability policy is arguably of merit in itself; no business wants to cause its customers needless distress or difficulty. However, there are also other benefits for organizations. These include: Increased customer base, by making services accessible to a greater number of individuals Improved service provision for all customers irrespective of their vulnerability status Improvement in the quality of consumer interactions, thereby minimizing the risk of harm Reduced likelihood of problems and complaints, because of operating effectively and getting things right the first time, leading to a reduced cost of complaints handling Improved customer satisfaction, building consumer trust, and enhancing the organization’s reputation Ability to demonstrate ethical behaviour and social responsibility Strengthened staff loyalty and engagement by ensuring that they feel valued, supported, and confident in handling difficult situations Help to achieve compliance with legal obligations related to fairness and equality, by following good practice in the fair treatment of consumers in vulnerable situations Learn more about how BS ISO 22458 works and how this standard could help your organization to improve inclusive service provision by downloading the ISO 22458 flyer here. You can also get an expert guide to understanding the views and experiences of consumers in vulnerable situations by downloading the ISO 22458 executive briefing.  Other key standards to support vulnerable consumers Businesses recognize that they need to support consumers better but require assistance in modernizing their behaviour, interaction, and responses. As a result of shared knowledge and good practices developed by businesses, consumer bodies, charities, and government departments, we have several standards to support organizations to deliver inclusive, fair, and flexible services. Our other key standards that can help to support consumers in vulnerable situations include: BS ISO 25552 Ageing societies. Framework for dementia-inclusive communities A dementia-inclusive community is one that is committed to working together to promote a better understanding of dementia, reduce stigma, raise public awareness, and facilitates social inclusion and participation. BS ISO 25552 provides a framework to foster a dementia-inclusive environment, where communities can support persons with dementia to be independent citizens, to be connected as much as they want to, to feel safe and comfortable, and to be able to maximize their abilities and opportunities to participate. BS EN 17161 Design for All. Accessibility following a Design for All approach in products, goods, and services. Extending the range of users BS EN 17161 specifies requirements that enable an organization to design, develop and provide products, goods, and services so that they can be accessed, understood, and used by the widest range of users, including persons with disabilities. It enables businesses to extend their range of users by identifying diverse needs, characteristics, capabilities, and preferences in their procedures and processes. BS 8878 Web accessibility. Code of practice BS 8878 is the first British standard to outline a framework for web accessibility when designing or commissioning web products. It provides guidance for all sectors on meeting the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 which states that web products must be accessible to all. It is designed as an introduction to digital accessibility for non-technical professionals. It will help anyone commissioning or designing a website or product to ensure it can be accessed by anyone. Why not see how these standards could help you to support consumers in vulnerable situations? Experience the benefits of delivering a fair and inclusive service by adopting BS ISO 22458 today. Discover BSI Knowledge Keeping up with your consumers changing circumstances can be time-consuming, but accessing and managing your standards doesn't have to be. With a BSI Knowledge subscription, you will have the flexibility and visibility to manage the key standards you need in order to support your vulnerable consumers with confidence - all in one place. Request to learn more.

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