Involving stakeholders
“In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, 
and in that
I am his pupil.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Doing business sustainably means bringing stakeholders on the sustainability journey. Plentiful data, a stylish report and ambitious targets are meaningless if stakeholders’ concerns are not properly addressed.
What does that look like in practice? Through transparent communication of their sustainability impacts, companies enable stakeholders to draw meaningful conclusions about their performance. Through the resulting dialogue, they show how they are setting priorities and goals in response to stakeholder feedback. And through effective assurance mechanisms, they demonstrate to stakeholders that they can be trusted.
Standards and guidelines
Standards and guidelines exist – notably the Global Reporting Initiative reporting guidelines, the AA1000 series and the ISO 26000 corporate responsibility standard. They can help support the development of a robust approach to inclusive stakeholder management. But they just cover the basics.
Online dialogue
Increasingly, alternative information is readily available to stakeholders in online channels that can’t be controlled. Parallel conversations about brands are played out every day on social media. These can be challenging if a brand becomes associated with a particular sustainability problem.
New social media platforms and technologies bring risks for companies whose corporate values are out of kilter with those of stakeholders. Equally, they can bring opportunities for companies that are serious about sustainability to enrich the dialogue about their impacts and performance.
But simply launching a Facebook page and a blog is not the way to engage stakeholders in meaningful debate. As tools to broaden dialogue, these media have their uses. However, dialogue that will be of real use in shaping strategy and issues management is best achieved through good old-fashioned human interaction.
Stakeholder panels
Leaders in sustainability are going even further by involving stakeholders in the running of their companies via collaborative governance mechanisms such as stakeholder panels. Still relatively new, these panels provide a direct conduit for dialogue between stakeholders and top management.
Of course, these panels must be properly integrated into the company’s board committee structure and have appropriate terms of reference. They must also be made up of people who can bring constructive criticism and fresh thinking rather than acquiescent applause. If these things are achieved, stakeholder panels can provide invaluable insight into society’s expectations.
