SRMS: Why Should Organizations Have Certified ISO 26000 Lead Implementers?

For organizations of any type or size, having purposes beneficial to the community is an outstanding marketing tool, for sure of great help to many global issues that societies are concerned of as well. As heard before from Howard Schultz, a famed American businessman, “companies should not have a singular view of profitability. There needs to be a balance between commerce and social responsibility. Companies that are authentic about it will wind up as the companies that make more money.” That is why many organizations around the world besides the great success they enjoy in national and international markets, they also try to improve people's lives through operating responsibly and working hard to integrate sustainable and responsible practices into all that they do. Greatest focus has mainly been on the environmental and social impacts of products and operations that companies offer and perform.

Over the last years, giving back to the community has become an important part of the market. Successful businesses that have been performing and implementing Social Responsibility, mostly in accordance with ISO 26000:2010, have been pushing the idea that organizations are obliged to act to benefit society at large.

Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems. A trade-off may exist between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment. Social responsibility means sustaining the equilibrium between the two. It pertains not only to business organizations but also to everyone whose any action impacts the environment.

As initiated from the standard, ISO 26000 is intended to assist organizations in contributing to sustainable development; to encourage them to go beyond legal compliance, recognizing that compliance with the law is a fundamental duty of any organization and an essential part of their social responsibility. It is intended to promote common understanding in the field of social responsibility, and to complement other instruments and initiatives for social responsibility, not to replace them. However, the need for persons specialized in ISO 26000 is becoming necessary day by day. The importance of this standard to the community, and complexity

of implementing it in an organization are a great challenge for entrepreneurs to find and select appropriate professionals to perform and implement it.

Certification bodies cannot certify organizations that implement social responsibility guidance based on ISO 26000. However, it is possible and very important to implement its guidance and highly benefit from that. The Lead Implementer certification for ISO 26000 that PECB offers serves to fulfill the market needs. Various professions may apply for this certification, from managers or consultants, project managers, people with the previous background on responsibility for the Social Responsibility in an organization, members of social responsibility teams, to expert advisors in corporate social responsibility. PECB has always supported this global vision, and training and certifying individuals for comprehensive strategies for sustainable development have been a goal since the beginning.

Certification is a vital component of any field as it provides evidence that certified professionals hold standardized competencies based on best practices. Certification can also serve as documented evidence of a professional’s qualifications, competencies, and experience. The benefits of the Certification Program include the following: It serves to demonstrate that the certified professional holds defined competencies based on best practices; it allows employing organizations to make an informed selection of employees or services based on the competencies that are represented by the certification designation; it provides incentives to the professional to constantly improve his/her skills and knowledge; it serves as a tool for employers to ensure that training has been effective. So get certified to ISO 26000 now, and become the person companies are looking for.