Saint Lucia is among over 200 countries from the international community, attending the ISO/SIS Workshop on Increasing the Impact of Developing Country Participation in International Standardization in Social Responsibility. The workshop will be followed by the 4th Meeting of the ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility. Mr. Anderson Lake a member of the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Social Responsibility is representing Saint Lucia at these activities in Sydney, Australia from January 27 to February 02, 2007.

The aim of the workshop and meeting is to enable “experts” from developing countries involved in the ISO working group on Social Responsibility to share their experiences and knowledge in the preparation of an international standard on Social Responsibility (SR) and to discuss its applicability to all types and sizes of organizations. These “experts” are drawn from six major stakeholder categories within national boundaries,
namely industry, government, labour, consumers, NGOs and service, support and research.

Work on this proposed international standard began in 2004 and is a joint undertaking of the ISO and ILO. This proposed standard seeks to (1) assist organizations in establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving social responsibility frameworks; (2) support organizations in demonstrating their social responsibility through responsiveness and the effective engagement of all stakeholders including employees, which may enhance their confidence and satisfaction; (3) facilitate credible communications on the organizations’ commitments and performance related to SR; and (4) promote and maintain greater transparency and fairness in organizations.

Saint Lucia is a participating member (p-member) of the Working Group set up to develop this standard. It is therefore well positioned to contribute constructively towards the formulation of the standard. As a participating member, it also has an obligation to vote on all issues/questions relating to the proposed standard formally submitted to the ISO Technical Working Group. Currently Mr. Hubert James, representing consumers in Saint Lucia, serves on two of the task groups setup by the Working Group to develop the various components of the international standard.

“Being a full member of the ISO has provided our small country the opportunity to participate and contribute effectively in the international standardization process,” notes Mr. Julius James, Acting Director at the SLBS. “It is our intention to learn and share our experiences on social responsibility as practiced in Saint Lucia. Our research reveals that many business organizations demonstrate some level of social responsibility through financing social development programmes for depressed communities, caring for the sick and elderly, adopting of social and educational institutions, providing financial support to poor persons in need of urgent medical attention and sponsoring of sporting tournaments, to name a few.” he adds.

With the adoption of this international standard, ISO hopes that businesses would not only concentrate on providing quality products and services but will also address social responsibility issues that impact significantly upon the environment in which they operate.

Following the return of Mr. Lake, the SLBS Ad Hoc Committee intends to formulate a programme for the sensitization and implementation of SR in Saint Lucia to further enhance the development of the island.