Overview
ISO/TS 26030:2019 - Social responsibility and sustainable development: Guidance on using ISO 26000:2010 in the food chain - is a technical specification that adapts the principles of ISO 26000 for the food industry. It provides practical guidance for applying social responsibility and sustainable development concepts across the entire food chain (farm to fork), helping organizations translate ISO 26000’s seven core subjects into food-sector actions that support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Key topics and technical focus
ISO/TS 26030 expands ISO 26000’s framework to address food-chain specifics. Major topics include:
- Organizational governance: integrating social responsibility into strategy, stakeholder identification, sphere of influence, legal compliance, impact analysis, implementation, accountability and transparency.
- Human rights: due diligence, identifying human-rights risk situations, grievance resolution and protections for vulnerable groups.
- Labour practices: employment relations, working conditions and social protection, social dialogue, occupational health & safety (OH&S), and workforce training.
- Environment: pollution prevention, sustainable resource use, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity and habitat restoration.
- Fair operating practices: anti‑corruption, responsible political involvement, fair competition and promoting responsible practices across the value chain.
- Consumer issues: fair marketing, food safety and health protection, sustainable consumption, complaint handling, data protection and access to essential services.
- Community involvement & development: education, employment creation, technology access, health and social investment.
Additional resources in the document include examples of good practices, an indicative stakeholder list for the food chain, and a correlation table mapping ISO/TS 26030 to the SDGs.
Practical applications
ISO/TS 26030 is guidance (not a certification standard) designed to help organizations in the food sector:
- Develop or strengthen CSR and sustainability strategies tailored to food production, processing, distribution and retail.
- Conduct social and environmental risk assessments and human-rights due diligence in supply chains.
- Create supplier codes of conduct, procurement policies and training programs that align with ISO 26000 principles.
- Improve stakeholder engagement, transparency and reporting related to social responsibility.
- Incorporate climate adaptation, resource efficiency and biodiversity measures into operations.
- Align corporate actions with the UN SDGs (e.g., sustainable agriculture, responsible consumption).
Who should use it
- Food producers, processors, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and food-service companies
- Sustainability, quality, compliance and procurement managers
- CSR consultants, auditors, NGOs, industry associations and public-sector policymakers
Related standards
- ISO 26000:2010 - Guidance on social responsibility (core reference)
- ISO/TC 34 (Food products) publications and other sector-specific guidance may be relevant for implementation
ISO/TS 26030 is a practical bridge between high-level social responsibility principles and actionable, food‑chain specific guidance for sustainable, ethical operations.
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