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... an increasingly strong resonance between QHSE and CSR. With the recent evolution of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards and the future ISO 45001, certified companies will now have to understand the issues and anticipate the needs and expectations of stakeholders. This obligation refers to the consideration of stakeholders, a fundamental practice of ISO 26000 and a guiding principle of many international CSR standards.
From interested parties to stakeholders
According to the definition of interested parties given in the aforementioned ISO standards, these are "persons or organizations that can either influence a decision or activity, or be influenced or consider themselves influenced by a decision or activity"; examples include customers, communities, suppliers, regulators, non-governmental organizations, investors, and employees.
The ISO 14001 standard specifies that "considering oneself influenced" means that the point of view has been brought to the attention of the organization. As such, materiality analysis is widely recommended by numerous standards as a basis for CSR initiatives that are more relevant and better integrated into companies' strategies and business models. With this clarification, companies are not only encouraged to identify their stakeholders, but they must also consult them to find out their views.
It is therefore not enough to simply identify expectations and needs yourself and in good faith; you must consult your stakeholders and be able to demonstrate that this "mirror" identification has been carried out, just as actions will have been taken to take them into account and be part of a continuous improvement process.
While ISO 26000 provides a rather vague definition of stakeholders, stating that " stakeholders are individuals or groups with an interest in an organization's decisions or activities," it specifies in the characteristics of social responsibility that "The role of stakeholders in social responsibility, the identification of stakeholders and dialogue with them are fundamental to social responsibility. It is recommended that the organization determine who has an interest in its decisions and activities so that it can understand the impacts it has and identify how to address them."
The publication by Comité 21 on January 13, 2015, of the "Guiding Principles for Constructive Dialogue with Stakeholders" highlights the growing importance attached to dialogue with stakeholders, with the aim of informing corporate decisions and, let's not underestimate it, preserving and improving the company's reputation. The third principle is entitled "Commit to selecting relevant stakeholders and issues." It states that while it is important to "identify relevant stakeholders," it is also important to "bring out a diversity of issues that are significant to both stakeholders and the initiator of the dialogue. This point is based on the concept of materiality, or the relevance of issues, which incorporates the organization's priorities and stakeholder expectations."
Towards an integrated approach?
The emergence of stakeholder engagement raises the question of which methodology to adopt. Some companies that had committed to identifying or even mapping their stakeholders at the group level are now faced with the need to do so at the site level, depending on the management systems in place.
This has led to the implementation of integrated approaches aimed at identifying stakeholders at each site in order to comply unequivocally with ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 standards.
It is also legitimate to ask how corporate approaches and the identifications made on certified sites can be organized to complement each other. Companies that have carried out materiality analyses at group level, involving consultation with group stakeholders, could find it highly beneficial to identify local stakeholders in order to supplement their approach, while of course avoiding making it more complex.
In conclusion
With this identification of stakeholders and their needs and expectations, EHS managers EHS contribute even more to the deployment of CSR initiatives and non-financial reporting by companies. The decisions taken at COP 21, with low-carbon strategies that are set to be structured, piloted, and published, should also amplify this resonance with CSR managers. We are already seeing the importance of energy audits and ISO 50001 certification in the first CSR reports and reports for 2015. Environmental performance and efficient stakeholder engagement will undoubtedly be two factors to be taken into account in the assessment of companies' overall performance in the coming months. Watch this space!
Photo credit: Trude Jonsson Stangel