Organizations Involved in Various Aspects of Social Responsibility

AccountAbility works to promote accountability innovations for sustainable development throughout the world.

Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, a member-led organization of Canadian companies

Ceres: A national network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. Based in Boston, this organization works to integrating sustainability into capital markets for the health of the planet and its people.

Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI):  An alliance of companies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and trade union organizations based in the UK. Promotes and improves the implementation of corporate codes of practice which cover supply chain working conditions. Its goal is to ensure that the working conditions of workers producing for the UK market meet or exceed international labor standards.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI):  Maintains the Sustainability Reporting Framework that allows organizations to disclose their sustainability performance in meaningful, credible and comparable ways. The framework facilitates transparency and accountability by organizations around the world. Its Sustainability Guidelines provide guidance for organizations to use as the basis for disclosure about their sustainability performance, and also provide stakeholders a universally-applicable, comparable framework in which to understand disclosed information. Based in Amsterdam, GRI is a worldwide, multi-stakeholder network of business, civil society, labor, investors, accountants and others who collaborate through consensus-seeking approaches to create and continuously improve the Reporting Framework.

International Labour Organization (ILO):  A United Nations agency that brings together governments, employers and workers of its member states in common action to promote decent work throughout the world.  It is devoted to advancing opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. The organization’s main aims are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues.

Marine Stewardship Council:  A global not-for-profit organization that works with fisheries, seafood companies, scientists, conservation groups and the public to promote responsible environmental choice in seafood. The MSC’s fishery certification program and seafood eco-label recognize and reward sustainable fishing. Developer of standards for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability that give retailers and consumers assurance that MSC-labeled seafood comes from, and can be traced back to, a sustainable fishery.

Social Accountability International (SAI):  SAI is an international not-for-profit human rights organization dedicated to the ethical treatment of workers around the world. Developer of SA8000—a standard and verification system for managing ethical workplace conditions throughout global supply chains. SAI works with companies, consumer groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), workers and trade unions, local governments, as well as a network of agencies accredited for SA8000 auditing, to help ensure that workers of the world are treated according to basic human rights principles by providing solutions for ethical supply chain management.

U.N. Global Compact:  A strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. By doing so, business, as a primary agent driving globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere. With over 5500 corporate participants and stakeholders from over 130 countries, it is the largest corporate citizenship and sustainability initiative in the world.

U.S. Green Building Council:  A non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation. Through the LEED certification program, offers owners and builders of commercial and residential buildings independent, third-party verification that a building project meets the highest green building and performance measures.

U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Social Responsibility: The United States member of an international voluntary working group chartered with developing an International Standard on Social Responsibility. ASQ chairs this TAG.  See ISO 26000.