Th e Stakeholder Engagement Manual

Acknowledgements:
The authors are grateful to the members of the review panel, who oversaw the development of this handbook:
Abra Brynne (International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling (ISEAL) Alliance),
Ambreen Waheed (Responsible Business Initiative Pakistan), Claus Frier (Novozymes), David Kingma (British American Tobacco),
David Shandler (Commonground), Ed Freeman (Olsson Center for Applied Ethics, University of Virginia),
Esther Trujillo Gimenez (Telefónica), Eva Beresford (The Environment Council UK), Gavin Andersson (Keystone),
Harriet Eisner (Amicus Union), Ivar Oellingrath (Norsk Hydro), Jayanti Durai & Anne Pattberg (The Camelot Group),
Jayn Harding (FTSE4Good), Kavita Prakash-Mani (SustainAbility), Lucianne Verweij (Philips),
Marina Liborakina (Unifi ed Energy Systems of Russia), Nathalie Ledrich (Services Industriels de Geneve),
Oliver Greenfi eld (Worldwide Fund for Nature), Peter Croal (Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment),
Sean Ansett (Gap Inc.), Stacey Smith (Business for Social Responsibility)
Victor Tharage (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in South Africa)
Many other people and organisations contributed to the development of this handbook, for a full list please see the appendix.
First Edition October 2005
ISBN 1 901693 220
Copyright 2005: AccountAbility, United Nations Environment Programme, Stakeholder Research Associates Canada Inc.
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profi t purposes without special permission
from the copyright holders, provided acknowledgment of the source is made. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for
any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the copyright holders. Designations employed and
the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP concerning
the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its frontiers or boundaries. Moreover, the views expressed do not necessarily
represent the decision or the stated policy of UNEP nor does citing of trade names or commercial processes constitute endorsement.
PDF versions of this report are available at: www.accountability.org.uk, www.StakeholderResearch.com, www.uneptie.org
THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT MANUAL
VOLUME 2: THE PRACTITIONER’S HANDBOOK ON STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
AccountAbility, the United Nations Environment Programme, and Stakeholder Research Associates
Th e Stakeholder Engagement Manual F r o m W o r d s t o A c t i o n
Forewords Foreword by AccountAbility Finding a path towards sustainable development will require the pooling of diverse perspectives, knowledge
and resources. No single individual, organisation, nor even a single
segment of global society is likely to by themselves identify and implement
the solutions to the big challenges
humanity is facing today.
So, for each individual player, but
also for society as a whole, there is at
the same time a necessity for and an
opportunity in engaging with each
other to solve these problems.
However, we should also not forget
another reason for considering and
listening to each other before taking
signifi cant decisions: We all share this
world and the consequences of many
of our actions are not limited to our
own ‘backyards’. Th ey impact others,
too, whether it be directly or indirectly.
Th is is why there also needs to be an
acknowledgement that those who are
impacted by an organisation’s activities
have the right to be heard.
All the above are reasons why
encouraging eff ective stakeholder
engagement is core to AccountAbility’s
mission of promoting organisational
accountability for sustainable
development. For the past decade
we have worked with pioneering
organisations and a growing band of
professionals in developing standards
and best practice in integrating
stakeholder viewpoints into decisionmaking.
One outcome of these
eff orts is the recent publication of
the exposure draft of the AA1000
Stakeholder Engagement Standard.
Another complimentary output, this
time produced in co-operation with
the United Nations Environment
Programme and Stakeholder Research
Associates, is this handbook.
One aim of this handbook is to provide
guidance on how corporations can
increase their knowledge, their abilities
and their legitimacy by undertaking
stakeholder engagement. Th is will
enhance performance and enable
corporations to reach more ambitious
objectives for their own business, but
also allow them to contribute towards
a more sustainable world. In fact,
helping to identify the space of synergy
between these two benefi ts by aligning
corporate strategy with sustainable
development is the ultimate objective
of this handbook.
We would like to thank the United
Nations Environment Programme for
initiating this project. We also thank
Stakeholder Research Associates,
whose work for Volume 1 of the
manual provided an excellent starting
point for the further research and
development activities that led to
the publication of this handbook.
Furthermore, we would like to thank
the members of the review panel and
the multitude of other individuals
who took part in the interviews,
consultations and workshops for
their contributions to this handbook.
Finally, we are indebted to the
publication sponsors who have not
only contributed resources, but also a
wealth of experience and expertise to
this handbook.
May it be of benefi t.
Maria Sillanpää
Managing Director, AccountAbility
Foreword by the United Nations
Environment Programme
What does a rail infrastructure
company do if it needs to build a
new railway line through an area
where local inhabitants may have
to move as a result? What does a
telecommunications company do if
the setting up of a new mast opposite
a local school causes community
protest? How does a food and drinks
company recover from the reputational
damage caused by the discovery of
health threatening substances in one
of its products? How does a chemicals
company ensure the neighbouring
community is aware of potential
hazards, risks and safety measures
applied at a local production plant?
How does a mining company restore
employee morale after an underground
explosion in which fellow workers lost
their lives?
Th ese are just a few examples of
diffi cult issues various companies have
had to deal with, issues that display the
close interplay between the business
interest and the societal interest. Th ese
are basic examples of dramatic events,
often showing symptoms of upstream
planning and decision-making that
had severe shortcomings. Th e more
important question therefore becomes:
How can the pro-active company
engage its stakeholders strategically?
Does it know who its real stakeholders
are? If yes, how can it improve its
ability to listen to and work with those
stakeholders in defi ning its mission,
what it stands for, what it produces,
how it produces, and how it takes
responsibility for its impacts with a
long term perspective?
Th is Practitioner’s Handbook on
Stakeholder Engagement takes the
company through some basic steps
and considerations in planning and
developing stakeholder engagement.
As the second volume in the
Stakeholder Engagement Manual
by UNEP, AccountAbility and
Stakeholder Research Associates,
it builds on Volume 1 which gave a
compilation of diff erent perspectives
of companies, industry associations,
labour unions and NGOs on
stakeholder engagement. Both
of the volumes confi rm growing
recognition of the importance of
stakeholder engagement in promoting
environmentally and socially
responsible behaviour by companies
across all sectors.