Client challenge
Doosan Babcock designs and delivers smart energy products and services to help create a greener future. As a global business with over 3,000 employees, our client has a varied customer base across the energy and process sectors, including all the major UK energy providers.
With a heritage of over 120 years in the energy sector, delivering long-term sustainable business is ingrained in the organisation. Our client aspires to meet their customer needs and be an innovator of products and services that don’t just limit impact, but improve the quality of life and well-being for communities worldwide. One of the ways the company achieves this goal is by aligning its values and corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda.
Doosan Babcock already has many management system certificates in place, including ISO 9001 (quality), OHSAS 18001 (health and safety) and ISO 14001 (environmental). To continue to lead the way, our client wanted to gain ISO 26000 accreditation. Success would validate the company’s comprehensive corporate social responsibility programme to its various stakeholders, as well as support socially responsible overseas operations and supply chains – fundamental elements to a company’s reputation.
How we helped
We supported Doosan Babcock by:
- ensuring that all the social responsibility principles fundamental to the business were fully understood, organisation-wide
- holding a workshop with our client’s cross-functional ISO 26000 implementation team, setting out the assessment approach and generating an action plan
- carrying out a structured, two-stage assessment, helping our client to implement relevant principles covered by the standard.
The highly collaborative approach was welcomed by Andy Hunt, Doosan Babcock CEO: “LRQA has helped us all the way through this process, in identifying our gaps and in identifying our gap closure technology, and then coached us and mentored us all of the way through the process.”
ISO 26000 helps us clearly define what CSR is and importantly what it isn't
The two assessment stages
- Essential preparation, including scoping business processes relevant to the core subjects covered by the standard and defining a structured assessment plan for Stage 2.
- Evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of the management system by assessing examples of the organisation’s activities.
Once the scope was confirmed, Doosan Babcock’s CSR team made sure the right time and resources were allocated to each part of the project.
Client insight
When considering implementing ISO 26000, Doosan Babcock shares the following guidance.
- Make sure roles and responsibilities in the internal team are clearly defined.
- Create a clear communication line with executive management, with regular progress reports to maintain accountability for actions.
- Undertake an honest review of CSR activities and how these are integrated and managed in the business. This should be followed by a gap analysis and then support from external resources, such as LRQA.
The role of an external company, such as LRQA, greatly assisted us throughout the process to further strengthen our CSR activities, prepare for the successful implementation demonstration, and promote success externally and to the wider Doosan family.
By implementing ISO 26000, the Corporate Social Responsibility standing of Doosan Babcock has been enriched with both internal and external stakeholders
Business benefits
Using ISO 26000 as a framework Doosan Babcockhas shown that, when done well, corporate social responsibility is not just about being a good business; it also makes good business sense.
Doosan Babcock has been able to structure its management of risks associated with human rights, labour practices, fair operating practices, organisational governance and community involvement in accordance with internationally accepted best practice. The project has also provided a solid foundation to expand the management of associated risks and seize new opportunities internationally. Implementing ISO 26000 has improved the robustness of the company’s supply-chain vetting process and helped toensure suppliers understand what good CSR means at Doosan Babcock.
Benefits include a sharper competitive edge, enhanced reputation and the ability to attract and retain both employees and clients.
