11.20.2006 - 02:44pm ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK, November 20, 2006 - The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Global Compact Office. The purpose of this Memorandum is to encourage cooperation and mutual support between ISO and the Global Compact Office. Specifically, both parties agreed to collaborate extensively on the development, promotion and support of the new ISO International Standard on Social Responsibility, which will be consistent with the Global Compact's ten principles. "This collaboration marks a major step forward for coherence in the field of social responsibility and lays a key foundation for the development and future success of the SR standard itself," said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the Global Compact Office.

About the United Nations Global Compact

Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact brings business together with UN agencies, labor, civil society and governments to advance ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Through the power of collective action, the Global Compact seeks to mainstream these ten principles in business activities around the world and to catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals. With over 3,000 participating companies from more than 100 countries, it is the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. For more information, please visit www.unglobalcompact.org.

About ISO

The ISO is a non-governmental organization which facilitates a network for the national standards institutes of 157 countries. The ISO is the world's largest developer of technical standards and the ISO's International Standards are used around the world by industrial and business organizations of all types, governments and other regulatory bodies, trade officials, etc. Please visit www.iso.org for more information.

Download an explanatory note by Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Office.