We are watching nowadays a widespread and undoubted craving for changes in the current models of economic development...At the heart of the matter lie the demands for a far-ranging reformulation in the roles of the State, of civil society organizations and, first of all, in the social role of private companies, whose power for transformation is all too clear. The decision to develop an international guidance standard for social responsibility (SR) tries to address this craving for a new kind of action. ISO 26000 intends to promote a common understanding in the SR field...This report reviews the ISO 26000 development process...the importance of its multi-stakeholder architecture and the outstanding Brazilian participation in all its stages. The GT Ethos – ISO 26000 project is presented as a model of how to mobilize and engage organizations towards the future guidance standard...