INNI
Online Update | Issue #6
August 2004
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INTRODUCTION
LETTER UPDATES BY
ISSUE AREA HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Dear INNI member, As you can see, 2004 continues to be a busy year for ISO in terms of its sustainable development-related standards activity. The bad news is that ISO continues to expand its standards work into areas presently occupied by NGO-led initiatives and intergovernmental entities, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The good news is that ISO has recognized the need for broader and more effective representation by the full range of stakeholders impacted by these new activities, and it is beginning to take steps to address the problem. It remains an open question, however, whether ISO's laudable commitment to improving stakeholder involvement in its work will translate into tangible results at a pace that matches the organization's rapid push into these new social and environmental arenas. As always, we encourage you to email us at inni@pacinst.org with any comments or feedback you may have. Best regards, Jason Morrison PS For our new
INNI members, more general information about the initiative, past
issues of the INNI Online Update, and detailed supplementary and
background material on the topics we cover can be found on the
INNI website.
UPDATES BY ISSUE AREA ISO's Water Committee Finalizing its First Drafts, Concern Over Application of Standards Persists News Update: ISO's Technical Committee developing water management standards (TC 224) met most recently in Daejeon, Korea from April 13-16, 2004. The group worked to finalize its first Working Drafts (WDs). The major discussion points included:
Subsequent to
the meeting, a three-part draft of the standard was circulated to
TC 224 members for comment, which will be discussed at the next
plenary meeting in Rabat, Morocco, on September 27-29, 2004. In
addition to substantive comments, the TC Secretariat has also requested
members' input on how best to harmonize the three WDs, which presently
differ substantially in content and form. At the September TC meeting,
member countries will decide whether to elevate the revised WDs
to Committee Drafts (CDs), or to make more extensive changes and
re-circulate them as WDs for ballot and comment. For the current
working drafts, click
here. Analysis: Several of the European representatives remain concerned that the standard, and particularly any Performance Indicators (PIs) included within the standard, will be used for assessment by ignorant politicians and regulators, without an understanding of the different contexts and underlying assumptions that may affect PIs on a regional basis. Additionally, they expressed concern that the guidance document will become a de facto international standard for benchmarking, adding an additional regulatory burden on service providers. These countries strive to minimize the inclusion of PIs in the document. Developing world
country participation at the TC meeting in Korea increased slightly
relative to previous meetings, with representatives from Argentina,
Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa in attendance.
Again, Argentina was the only Latin American country represented.
In order to increase the feedback from developing countries, TC
224 has distributed the three-part draft to water agencies in Latin
America, Africa, and Asia, and will help organize water forums in
Puerto Rico in August, Morocco in September, and possibly in Asia
at a yet to be determined date and location, in an effort to obtain
feedback on the draft standards from developing country representatives.
Consumer and environmental interests continue to be poorly represented
at TC 224. Japan and France both continue to sent very large delegations.
Background: In late 2001, with the creation of TC 224, ISO entered the critical area of water resource management. According to local U.S. water agencies, which voted against the French proposal to begin work in this area, standardization represents the beginning of an unacceptable push toward privatization. Further, because the World Trade Organization recognizes ISO as a developer of "trade-legal" standards, the environmental community has also been concerned about the trade and democratic governance implications of the standards TC 224 will produce. It is feared that any norms created in TC 224's standards could limit or undermine domestic regulation of water and wastewater services if and when disputes arise. Currently TC 224 is developing the standard within four working groups: "Terminology," "Service to the Consumers," "Drinking Water," and "Wastewater Systems," respectively. ISO Moves to Develop Guidelines for Social Responsibility News Update: On June 25, 2004, ISO's senior management decided that ISO should develop an international standard pertaining to Social Responsibility (SR). After having reviewed a 23-member, multi-stakeholder Advisory Group's (AG) recommendation and working report on ISO's possible role in the field of SR standardization, as well as listening to feedback from delegates attending an international conference on topic, the ISO Technical Management Board (TMB) decided to develop "a guidance document, written in plain language which is understandable and usable by non-specialists, and not for a specification document intended for conformity assessment." The work will be conducted in a Working Group (WG) directly under the responsibility of the TMB. A TMB task force was formed to develop the scope of the project and working procedures of the WG, and expects to issue the call for nomination of experts after its meeting in September 2004. The TMB decided that the WG should be under shared leadership between a developed and developing country, and is accepting applications for the WG's leadership till September 3, 2004. Analysis:
With the decision to develop a Social Responsibility standard,
ISO is officially entering the realm of social/ethical standards.
The move is emblematic of ISO's ambition to expand its scope from
technical and engineering standards to developing standards related
to public policy and sustainable development. ISO's move into these
new areas creates new concerns and questions, which the organization
has acknowledged, but has just begun to address with a Technical
Management Board resolution. Questions raised include, What
is the relationship with existing social standards or national regulation?
Is broader stakeholder involvement required for standards related
to social responsibility? Background:
ISO formally began delving into Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) in September 2002 when ISO's governing body, the ISO Council,
voted to establish an advisory body to explore the feasibility and
desirability of creating CSR standards. As noted above, the Advisory
Group developed an extensive report on CSR Standardization, and
submitted its recommendation on how ISO should proceed with the
issue in April 2004. ISO May Develop New Standard for Greenhouse Gas Validation and Verification Bodies News Update: A proposal to begin work on a new standard, "Greenhouse Gases - Specifications for bodies that provide verification or validation assessment" was submitted jointly by ISO's Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) and ISO/TC 207's Working Group 5 on Climate Change. The purpose of the proposed standard is to provide a set of requirements for bodies that provide validation or verification assessments of greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed standard will follow the CASCO-approved common format for such a document: general requirements, and requirements covering structural characteristics of the bodies concerned, the type of resources they should have available, and the internal process and management systems elements they should have in place to ensure they can provide credible assessments that can support verification and validation claims. If and when
approved, the specification document, either in a form of International
Standard or Technical Specification, will be developed in a new
Working Group 6 within TC 207. The ballot for the proposal was circulated
in April 2004. The result of the vote and decision on whether to
develop such a standard will be announced in August 2004. The proposed
target date for the standard's publication is the end of 2006. Analysis: The major impetus to create this greenhouse gas verification standard arose from ISO's current development of GHG emission accounting and reporting standards that, in turn, will require further specifications for validation and verification bodies. However, the proposal argues that the new standard would also be used for accreditation of verification/validation bodies for existing GHG emission accounting schemes, such as World Business Council on Sustainable Development/World Resources Institute GHG Protocol and the UNFCC Clean Development Mechanism. ISO acknowledges that there are already several documents that establish requirements for verification and validation bodies, but points out that they are all scheme specific, and that there is no universally applicable accreditation requirement at this time. From the Pacific Institue's perspective, if ISO decides to go ahead with development of this new standard, its success will depend entirely on whether and how the new Working Group incorporates the existing requirements already developed or are under development within these other GHG accounting programs. Feedback
on ISO's Long-term Strategy Consultation Document Released Analysis: The paper concludes that ISO is increasing in importance and influence and that its standards will increasingly serve as essential mechanisms to support a sustainable world economy. In particular, regarding the scope of the ISO's work, some respondents advocated wider coverage in areas, such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate Governance, Occupational Health and Safety, and more generally, sustainable development. Based on this feedback, it is very likely that ISO will continue to expand its scope of work into these environmental and social arenas. In the area
of stakeholder involvement and developing country participation,
a vast majority of responses recognized that there is a significant
room for improvement to expand the participation of these underrepresented
groups. Suggestions for required actions included: communication
and promotion; modification/improvement of processes (concerning
participation and dissemination of information); development of
new mechanisms to foster the participation of disadvantaged categories;
and use of resources and assistance. It is noteworthy that these
suggestions overlap substantially with the ISO Technical Management
Board's recent resolution
regarding ISO's proposed Social Responsibility standard where the
TMB:
Background:
In July 2003, ISO launched an initiative to develop its long-range
strategies for 2005-2010. A consultation document, ISO
Horizon 2010: Standards for Sustainable World, was circulated
to member bodies for review and comment. The document highlights
trends and emerging issues surrounding international standardization
and lays out a set of questions related to key issues, including:
developing country participation in ISO, the need for improved stakeholder
involvement, recognition of the role of international standards
in trade and globalization, and support for conformity assessment,
among others. ISO members were asked to submit consolidated national
responses to the document by October 31, 2003, with the feedback
received serving to inform the development of ISO's 2005-2010 strategic
plan, which is scheduled for adoption by ISO's General Assembly
in 2004. Miscellaneous News International
Accreditation Forum Launches Project to Examine Relationship Between
Regulatory Compliance and ISO 14001 Certification ISO Decides
not to Revise Environmental Performance Evaluation Standard The Schedule
for ISO 14001 and 14004 Publication Delayed ISO Creates
Working Group on Consumer Participation Updates of
ISO's Environmental Management Standards Committee Activities Issue Briefings on ISO and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) were produced by a partnership of six sustainable development-oriented NGOs. The papers address issues relating to small and medium-sized enterprises; stakeholder capacity to engage in CSR; and national differences in CSR definitions and priorities. European
Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility Releases
Its Final Report Update on
the Development of ISO's Greenhouse Gas Project Accounting Standard
(ISO 14064 Part 2 stabdard) |
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word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. For problems or questions: newsletter_editor @ pacinst.org This update was created by the Pacific Institute, 654 13th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612. Copyright 2004. |
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