Stakeholder dialogue is part of ENGIE’s development strategy. It is a key part of the Group’s CSR policy, and it lets us identify risks while simultaneously providing the resources we need to prevent, reduce, or compensate for the various business, social, and environmental impacts of the Group’s work. Stakeholder dialogue is also part of the Group’s strategy, adding value to our commercial offering and our interaction with local communities. It complements our environmental policy, with which it is closely linked.
ENGIE’s stakeholder dialogue is made up of several components: a Group target, BU self-assessment, a toolkit, a training programme, and operational support from the CSR Department.
A target for stakeholder engagement
ENGIE includes dialogue with its stakeholders in its 2030 objectives:
"100% of the Group's activities provided with societal plan for dialogue with stakeholders.” By 2022, 46% of the Group's activities have such a plan.
This target will make sure that the stakeholder dialogue policy is rolled out across the entire Group. The annual progression of this objective is shown below:
A self-assessment system for this target, implemented on an operational level
Each year, each operational site or activity will assess its level of stakeholder dialogue, using the reference formulated for the entire Group. This self-assessment reference is based on the AA1000 standard for stakeholder management, developed by the NGO Accountability, an international institution known in the CSR field. By applying the reference, we guarantee a standardized approach to all of the Group’s activities.
The Group’sCSR Department will compile the data produced by each operational site and propose a standard methodology to structure the stakeholder dialogue, respond to the reference’s assessment, and aggregate data on a Group level. This method contributes to the calculation of the indicator linked to the objective of 100% coverage of activities through dialogue with stakeholders.
Potential risks associated with stakeholder engagement are identified in advance. These potential risks may include stakeholders refusing to engage with the company, stakeholders opposed to the company's activities or conflicts between stakeholders.
A toolkit designed with and for operational entities
The toolkit is based on a six-step structured dialogue (Stakeholder Engagement process), that includes actions like analysing the context for every situation and an exhaustive identification of stakeholders for the challenges in question, and the compilation, tracking, and impact assessment of an action plan. The process also becomes a management tool, by generating maps of stakeholders and associated engagement work.
The toolbox also includes everything that operational teams may need for their dialogue initiatives, such as guides to holding community meetings or mastering participatory tools.
A training program rolled out company-wide
With ENGIE University, we have developed and rolled out a training program within the company, which is tailored to each different professional and cultural context. It consists of a blend of interactive activities (80%) and academic presentations (20%).
To conclude, these tools and methodologies are what structures the Group’s corporate and social responsibility initiatives, combining ambition and adaptability. Our ambition is to be the favourite company of our clients – local authorities, energy users, or industrial companies – who know that they can count on a responsible company that serves the community. This ambition is tailored to every region and every situation through the Group’s policy, designed in partnership with our operational teams.
Stakeholder dialogue procedures and examples
The main forms of dialogue with the main stakeholder groups are illustrated below, in a non-exhaustive way:
Among these procedure, we can mention the Stakeholder Committee and the Dialogue and Transition Forum.
The Stakeholder Committee is an annual, voluntary, joint, multidisciplinary meeting chaired by Catherine MacGregor, Chief Executive Officer, and Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Its aim is to organize a dialogue on ENGIE's strategic orientations, and more specifically on its corporate social responsibility commitments, which are an integral part of its performance. The Committee's recommendations are followed up.
On October 21, 2022, ENGIE convened its Stakeholder Committee, made up of representatives of civil society, for the second time, to discuss the theme of just transition.
In addition, since 2016, the Group has had a space dedicated to dialogue, the Dialogue and Transition Forum, which enables operational teams to exchange views with civil society players on topics related to territorial dialogue and stakeholder involvement, within the framework of the energy transition.
Example of a stakeholder mapping matrix and their position and commitment to a project
