ISEAL Alliance

The ISEAL Alliance is inviting comments for the revision of the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards. The second public consultation for the 2009 code revision is open until 11 December.

The global reference code for credible social and environmental standards is used by many voluntary standards systems as their guide for how to set social and environmental standards. It is referenced internationally by governments and industry.

In spring, a first consultation period had resulted in a number of suggestions to strengthen the code and clarify its provisions. The revised version 5.2 includes key additions on stakeholder mapping and the link between the structure of the standard and its objectives. A public summary detailing the standard development process is now required, as is more effort by the standard-setting organisation to engage with organisations that have overlapping standards. The revised draft is also significantly reordered with two main sections on Standards Development and on Standards Structure.

Comments on the draft version of the Standard-Setting Code will be posted on the consultation site and reviewed by ISEAL members in December. Any final changes to the Standard-Setting Code will be incorporated before it is approved in early 2010.

• Consultation documents for the revision of the ISEAL Standard-Setting Code
• Results of the first consultation period
• Introduction to the ISEAL Standard-Setting Code