Corporate Citizenship Sustainability, Simplified.
Who and What Matters in Reporting? 16 July 2013
Introduction by Amanda Jordan Founding Director of Corporate Citizenship Ian Buckland , Associate Director, Corporate Citizenship
The who and the what
Katie Buchanan Head of Sustainability and Reporting, Virgin Media
Understanding our stakeholders and involving them in our sustainability story.
Joe Franses and Lucinda Hensman Director of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability and Head of Stakeholder Engagement & Corporate Responsibility Reporting , Coca-Cola Enterprises
Creating a stakeholder focussed report
Steve Kenzie Programme Director, The Partnership Initiative
Questions
The power of partnerships
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The who and the what Our 2012 survey of over 150 global sustainability practitioners…
“Communicating the right information to the right audience.”
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Mastering materiality assessment 3-Ps
Process
Purpose
Perspectives
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Process- an integrated framework for materiality assessment
Identification & context
STAKEHOLDERS
BUSINESS
Set objectives
Analysis
Testing
Outputs
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Process- an integrated approach to materiality assessment
Reviewing current policies & approach
Conducting management interviews
Benchmarking Benchmarking peer companies peer companies
Identification and context Explore the regulatory and legislative landscape
Review external expectations
Conduct stakeholder engagement
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Purpose A MATERIALITY MATRIX
MATERIALITY ASSESSMENT
Issue D
Importance to society
High importance Low significance
High importance High significance
Issue B Issue A Low importance Low significance
Low importance High significance
Issue C Significance to business
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Purpose – GRI G4 standard 2015 1.Two levels . of ‘In Accordance’
‘Core’
‘Comprehensive
Required to demonstrate; – considered approach to the selection of stakeholders and – their engagement in the materiality assessment Report issues indicators based on this assessment. Disclosure of Management Approach (DMA) also has materiality assessment embedded
Materiality Map
Suggested timeline to G4 1. mapped in detail during 2013 2. ready for potential indicator implementation in 2014 3. G4 report in 2015. 8
Perspectives – new techniques
Quant
1-2-1
Group
In depth
Quant
1 -2-1
Group
In depth
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How can we get stakeholders more involved?
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Understanding our stakeholders & involving them in our sustainability story Katie Buchanan Head of Sustainability & Reporting Virgin Media
First, a bit about us…
• quad-play provider of broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services • largest Virgin company • around 200,000 kms network • over 14,000 staff • part of Liberty Global plc, the world’s largest broadband communications company
Our sustainability story
Who are we telling this story to?
Staff
B2C customers
Policy makers
B2B customers
Opinion leaders
Understanding the stakeholders we want to talk to
Who are they?
What’s their interest in what we’re doing?
What do we want them to do?
What are the best ways of engaging them?
We didn’t want to follow a conventional approach to stakeholder mapping‌
For us, it’s not about managing the conversations but instead facilitating them
Our principles for engagement
Be brave
• we won’t shy away from tricky issues or bad responses, we’ll embrace them and be transparent.
Be action orientated
• we’ll do something with / respond to the dialogue we’re having, we won’t bury this away as commercial insight.
Be innovative
• we’ll take a digitally driven approach to stakeholder engagement, putting our competencies at the heart of our approach.
Example 1 - Shaping our sustainability story Objective: listen to what people both inside and outside our business are saying about how we’re getting on and what we could be doing better
WHY WE DID IT? • build on our commitment to involve all of our staff, customers and sustainability experts in our journey as it evolves • follow a formal process HOW WE DID IT? • Interactive video booth • Online panel conversation • Interviews
“We’re all ears” THE CONVERSATION WE HAD • how we’re doing on our sustainability journey - our vision, product impact, approach to reporting, verification of data etc.
WHO DID WE ENGAGE? • Customers & prospects • Staff • Experts THE QUESTIONS WE ASKED? • What does it mean to be a responsible company? • Are we tackling the right issues? • How are we doing compared to other companies? • Are we doing a good job of explaining what we’re up to?
Shift in our strategic focus Digital does good
Published a report with 11 commitments Re-mapped our issues & agreed most material with our board Launched an internal online community to build on our conversation
Example 2 – engagement on big digital issues Objective: understand what people really think about the connected world, how it’s changing the way we live today, and what it means for the future.
WHY WE DID IT? • Canvass opinion & help us understand the demands and concerns of people across the country. • Shape our services and inform how we represent our customers’ and the general public’s views to Government.
“Our Digital Future”
HOW WE DID IT?
THE CONVERSATION WE HAD
• Independent research • Big Red Box • Our digital future website • Expert opinion & insight
• Data protection • Living online • Safety and privacy • Sharing and piracy
WHO DID WE ENGAGE? • B2C customers • Staff • MPs • Opinion leaders
THE QUESTIONS WE ASKED? 1. What’s the biggest difference the web has made to your life, and how do you think it has made the biggest positive difference to society? 2. Is there anything that worries you about the internet and an increasingly digital society?
DIGITAL THAT MAKES GOOD THINGS HAPPEN new company manifesto developed
Clear insight & recommendations presented to the board Report being published later this summer with launch event
In summary 1
You need to take engagement to the places where your audiences are likely to be – don’t expect them to come to you!
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You need to make the engagement experience appealing with a creative hook that provides value / interest for people.
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Stimulating conversations takes planning, internal resources and budget – it’s a big commitment
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You need to be prepared to openly report back on and act on what you hear.
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Use your brand – for us that was all about putting people first, having fun & challenging convention.
Let’s talk. virginmedia.com/sustainability #vmsust #ourdigitalfuture sustainability@virginmedia.co.uk
Big Red Box- engagement tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k1IOtAgQpc
Joe Franses and Lucinda Hensman Coca-Cola Enterprises
http://www.cokecce.com/corporate-responsibilitysustainability/corporate-crs-report
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Thank you! For more information: Website: www.corporate-citizenship.com Twitter: @CCitizenship LinkedIn: Corporate Citizenship