The International Organization for Standardization’s initiative to develop a “Guidance on social responsibility” for all types of organisations (ISO 26,000) is as important as it is complex. It has the potential to support the United Nations “protect, respect and remedy” framework... I am pleased that the draft Guidance identifies respect for human rights as one of the key principles of social responsibility, and human rights as one of the core subjects... The reference to the concept of “sphere of influence” in the human rights section corresponds broadly with how it is described in the UN framework document... However, the same alignment on “sphere of influence” does not exist elsewhere in the document. The draft Guidance is internally inconsistent on this issue, and beyond the human rights section it is inconsistent with the UN framework. This will send mixed and confusing messages to companies...and to stakeholders...