SQAS, social responsibility assessment or instrumentalisation?

Abstract

Safety and Quality Assessment for Sustainability (SQAS) is evaluation promoted by an as-sociation of chemical companies called CEFIC. Its vocation is to serve as a tool for the as-sessment of safety, quality, security, health, environmental and corporate social responsi-bility (CSR) of the logistic suppliers, but the activity of the companies that promote it can generate doubts about its instrumentalization. On the other hand, ISO 26000 offers an agreed guidance framework on social responsibility (SR). Through a comparative analysis, using the core subjects of ISO 26000 as a basis, the suitability of the SQAS evaluation in its “Transport Service” modality, as SR measurement tool, is tested. The analysis detects im-portant shortcomings in the SR core subjects assessed, especially those referring to human rights, moral obligations with society or stakeholder commitment and its participation, but on the other hand, the assessment stands out for its exhaustiveness in specific transporta-tion safety issues. This work contributes to contextualize the SQAS assessment as a CSR tool and identify the aspects that should be incorporated for a more effective assess of CSR. It also shows the lack of rigor of the self-regulation tools of organizations.