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Ryerson CSR Institute Session: The ISO 26000 Social Responsibility Standard After Ten Years and the UN Sustainable Development Goals - Finding the Linkages

Date
March 23, 2020
Time
12:00 PM EDT - 2:00 PM EDT

To view the video recording of this session, click here.

To view the PDF/PPT presentations for this session, click on the links below:

This talk is co-sponsored by ISO 26000 Stakeholder Global Network, the Ryerson Corporate Social Responsibility Student Association, the Ryerson Commerce and Government Association, and the Ryerson Law and Business Student Association, and is supported by the Trade Commissioner Service of Global Affairs Canada.

At the international level, there is simultaneously a need for authoritative guidance on the roles and normative responsibilities of corporate and other actors, and a real opportunity for development of innovative approaches for providing that guidance. The "need" for authoritative guidance and the "opportunity" for innovation stems primarily from the current inadequacies of conventional public international law approaches (i.e., treaties) to provide that guidance. Two innovative instruments with intended global reach to businesses (and others) are the ISO 26000 social responsibility guidance standard, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are very different, and yet available evidence suggests that the linkages between the two are considerable.

The purpose of this session is to explore the emerging global architecture addressing responsible business conduct, using these two instruments as a point of departure. It will involve discussion of the origins and evolution of the two instruments, their substantive content and distinctive features, and the nature of the linkages and interactions between them.

Adriana Rosenfeld is a scientific computer and environmental information specialist, as well as a trainer of trainers in CSR through the IberoAmerican Network of Universities for CSR. At UNLu, she is the Coordinator of the Degree in Environmental Information and a Deputy teacher in the Department of Social Sciences as well as member of interdisciplinary teams of research, extension and technological linkages. She leads interdisciplinary work teams responsible for the design and development of projects focused on sustainability in public and private organizations. Within the ISO 26000 standards development process, Adriana was the TG2 Co-Convenor as an expert (SSRO/Academia) for the delegation from Argentina.

Annette Kleinfeld is a professor of business & society at the University of Applied Sciences Lake Constance, Germany as well as a European pioneer and long time consultant in business ethics, integrity management, and CSR. She participated in the ISO 26000 development process (2005-2010) as an expert for the German delegation.). Annette is a founding member of the ISO 26000 Stakeholders Global Network, and its Ambassador for the Academic./Research group.

Carolyn Schmidt is a Program Director at ECOLOGIA, an independent international environmental non-governmental organization based in the United States. She has worked on grassroots-focused sustainable development projects in China, Russia and the Baltics. She participated in the ISO 26000 development process (2005-2010) as an expert for ECOLOGIA. She is a founding member of the ISO 26000 Stakeholders Global Network, and its current Secretary.

Cristina Lopez is a Certified Public Accountant, Social Responsibility & Sustainability Expert and Auditor .Within IRAM (the Argentina National Standards Body), she is a member of the Strategic Committee on Social Responsibility and of the Strategic Environmental Committee. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Argentine OECD National Contact Point. Cristina participated in the ISO 26000 development process (2005-2010) as an expert for the Argentinian delegation.

Kernaghan Webb is an Associate Professor of Law and Business in Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management (cross appointed to the Law Faculty), and is the Director of the Ryerson University Institute for the Study of CSR. His work has been cited and quoted by the Supreme Court of Canada. He has extensive experience chairing, convening, and participating in ISO and served as Special Advisor to the United Nations Global Compact re: ISO 26000. Dr. Webb has served on the board of directors of several organizations and has advised inter-governmental, governmental, private sector, civil society and multi-stakeholder bodies. In 2012, Dr. Webb received the Standards Council of Canada National Award of Excellence.

Mary-Ellen Hynd is an ICF-Accredited global coach and organizational strategist known for moving ideas to meaningful action through the lenses of leadership, sustainability and communication. She specializes in coaching to develop a creative versus reactive leadership mindset using values as a compass for decision making. Mary-Ellen is an active member of the International Coach Federation (ICF) and currently on the Toronto Prism Awards judging panel. She was a participant in the ISO 26000 development process, after which she created and taught Humber College’s first corporate social responsibility course.