International Standards For Social Responsibility Of Chinese Enterprises May Be Released In July

Whether willing to face it or not, it is extremely urgent for Chinese enterprises in the transition period of economic development mode to change their strategies and enhance their sense of social responsibility.

At such a sensitive time, a new standard of international social responsibility came into being. The draft of the first social responsibility standard (hereinafter referred to as ISO26000) formulated by the International Standards Organization has been completed. According to the work plan, it will be officially adopted as an international standard in July this year. This is also the first time that the International Organization for Standardization has formulated non-technical standards.

Although this standard is clearly defined as non certification, some experts believe that it may be promoted by the market to become a certification standard in some countries, and its contents may even promote relevant national legislation. For Chinese enterprises, the upcoming standards are more like a huge challenge and test.

Impact guidance documents may be used as certification standards

If there is no special accident, the first international social responsibility standard (hereinafter referred to as ISO26000) will be officially adopted as an international standard in July this year.

In March 2005, the International Standards Working Group on Social Responsibility was formally established and held its first meeting in Brazil. Since then, the Working Group has held eight plenary meetings, and nearly 500 experts from more than 80 countries have participated in the drafting of the document. In May 2010, the Working Group held its eighth meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, where it discussed the final key issues and decided to send the revised standard draft to all members of the International Standards Organization (ISO) for voting.

The reporter of Economic Information Daily learned that according to the plan, the last vote of all ISO members will be held two months after the Copenhagen Conference. If there is no special accident, ISO26000 will be officially adopted as an international standard in July.

"The process is complicated and chaotic, and the conflict between ideas and interests is intense to a white hot degree." An expert representing China at the conference told the Economic Information Daily reporter in an interview. He recalled that in all previous meetings, anyone could speak freely, and there were many disputes and quarrels between them. For the Chinese representatives, they still needed to explain the "unfriendly" misunderstandings and remarks of other countries from time to time.

"Developed countries are arrogant, while developing countries are silent," he said frankly. Although China has made a lot of efforts, the demands are different because of different situations in different countries. In fact, the draft standard formulated at present reflects more the will of western developed countries, and does not fully consider the actual situation of China and developing countries. But many basic theories and principles are worth learning from.

Although, the International Organization for Standardization has repeatedly claimed that ISO26000 is a guiding document, not used for third-party certification, not a management system. However, in fact, this guidance document is increasingly characterized by certification standards.

"Because the implementation of this standard in different countries will not be the same, in some countries it may develop into a standard for certification, because the thrust of the market is hard for anyone to stop." Chen Ying, member of the United Nations Global Compact Council, said in an interview with the Economic Information Daily.

Challenge the next "tight curse" of Chinese enterprises?

It is worth noting that at present, there are some social responsibility standards and certification (such as SA8000, toy association certification, clothing association certification, etc.), and some enterprises in China have also accepted certification, but because they have not been widely recognized, their impact is limited.

"The release of ISO26000 in this context will change the development pattern of social responsibility to a large extent, not only changing the original 'corporate social responsibility' for enterprises into 'social responsibility' for all social organizations, including government agencies, but also accelerating the implementation of social responsibility in a wider range," Chen Ying told reporters.

But for enterprises involved in international trade, this will become a real pressure in front of us.

Zhang Li, the director of Guangdong Zhaoweili Garment Factory, said in an interview with Economic Information Daily that after the introduction of ISO26000 standard, it is also a driving force for enterprises in turn. Because within the limits that enterprises can afford, the introduction of this standard reminds enterprises to consider more employment benefits and employee treatment, and remind enterprises to pay more attention to social responsibility and humanistic care.

But on the other hand, he also frankly said his own pressure: "Our export labor-intensive enterprises are in an awkward situation at present, and the profit space is very small. If we overemphasize employee benefits, the enterprise will be almost unprofitable, and enterprise operation will be difficult." Zhang Li said.

According to incomplete statistics, from the end of 2008 to the middle of March 2009, more than 10 economies such as the United States and the European Union targeted 25 trade barriers against Chinese goods. Under this adverse condition, enterprises are currently facing greater pressure in fulfilling their social responsibilities. As some export enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses are difficult to fundamentally improve in the short term, layoffs It is difficult to completely avoid the phenomenon of reducing operating costs such as salary cuts.

In fact, in addition to the huge consumer market, the starting point of wages is low, and Chinese manufacturing enterprises are still in a competitive position in terms of unit labor costs, which is also the main reason why many international processing enterprises choose to settle in China.

It is understood that the unit labor cost refers to the total labor cost per unit output, which is calculated by dividing the average wage of employees by the output level of these employees. According to the data released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the unit labor cost level of manufacturing in South Korea in 2004 was 0.6, Japan 0.5, Italy and Germany 0.8, Mexico 0.4, the United States 0.6, Spain 0.7, and China only 0.16.

This year, the labor cost of China's manufacturing industry is on the rise. "This reflects that China's economic transition has reached an urgent period. On the other hand, it is also a higher and longer-term requirement for enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities." An enterprise president who would not be named told reporters this way.

"Whether the whole Chinese society can accept ISO26000 is still unknown, but it is certain that there must be huge pressure." The expert who participated in the drafting of the draft standard said that he told reporters that ISO26000 will inevitably be used to supervise and verify enterprises, the government and some management departments Individuals, including the media, will be placed in closer social attention than ever before.

According to data, more and more multinational companies are constantly exerting pressure on Chinese suppliers to require them to comply with relevant codes of conduct in terms of factory working conditions, workers' rights, health and safety, and business ethics. From 1997 to July 2004, more than 8000 Chinese enterprises have been audited by multinational companies on social responsibility.

Dealing with structural adjustment

For such a "high-profile" standard, Chen Ying expressed her concern. She said that because of the implementation of this standard, there is no final conclusion, but this non-technical certification itself cannot reconcile the interests of all parties when it is formulated, especially the differences between developing countries and developed countries in economic, cultural, social and other aspects. Under such circumstances, relying solely on this standard requirement will inevitably create huge pressure on domestic enterprises.

"If this standard is promoted by the market of other countries as a standard for certification, its relevant contents and regulations may even promote the legislation of some countries," Chen Ying told reporters. However, it should be noted that this standard may also become another barrier for some countries to export enterprises in other countries. It is not hard to imagine that, in addition to general trade litigation, western countries can use this standard to raise the import threshold and even exclude China's product exports, which will undoubtedly increase trade protection.

Zhang Mudi, the chairman of Guangzhou Xinying Garments Co., Ltd., said that the ISO26000 standard was mainly formulated by western countries, and there was a problem of trade protection and trade barriers, because the right to formulate and speak about the standard was controlled by western countries, "It is up to them to decide what works and what doesn't, which is a very dangerous thing for countries led by this standard."

For example, Zhang Mudi, whose company is mainly engaged in European and American orders, sells its products to Italy, France, the United States and other countries

An unnamed senior executive in the field of building materials believes that China has been accepting various social responsibility standards in recent years, which is closely related to the overall environment of the transformation of China's economic development mode. However, in the face of ISO26000, China can only accept it in stages. After all, China's actual national conditions and economic development are problems that need to be faced squarely.

However, this cannot be the reason for China to slow down the pace of social responsibility. In fact, under the background of China's structural adjustment and industrial upgrading in recent years, there is just a significant opportunity for social responsibility standards to be recognized. Faced with the strategic transformation from GDP oriented to sustainable development, the past ideas of ignoring the impact of economic growth on resources and environment will no longer be followed. National leaders even mentioned "Let workers work with dignity and live with dignity"... All signs indicate that China's acceptance of social responsibility standards seems to have reached an appropriate time point.

"Under such circumstances, Chinese enterprises should take a more active attitude to understand, prepare and meet the requirements brought by social responsibility." Chen Ying told reporters that Chinese enterprises should take the initiative to learn and think, respond to and develop corresponding strategies, and gradually reflect and increase the share of social responsibility in the operation of enterprises. The second is the government, which should play a role in supervision and service, and create a social atmosphere conducive to transformation for enterprises. Finally, the relevant industry associations should independently formulate relevant social responsibility standards in line with their own industry, strive to be in line with international standards, and strive to achieve international mutual recognition, so as to gain initiative for Chinese enterprises.