Embed in management systems

1. Embedded commitment: The company has a policy commitment to ongoing stakeholder engagement, and embeds it in its governance, culture, and management strategy.​

Create a Tailored Engagement Plan​

2. Inclusiveness: The company listens to a full range of rights-holders across the value chain and has a process to identify legitimate representatives.
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3. A Focus on Those Most at Risk​:  The company prioritizes engaging with the rightsholders who are most likely to be harmed by its operations​, and therefore where early engagement is critical.​​

Conduct appropriate  activities

​​4. Informed Participation: The company establishes ongoing, two-way communication with affected rights holders that provides affected stakeholders with relevant critical information well in advance of key decision points.

5. Trust and Accountability: The company establishes procedures, tailored to the context, to build rights holder trust and accountability for its actions.​

Ensure follow through

6. Stakeholder-informed Action Plan: The company analyzes information obtained through affected stakeholder engagement and collaborates with rights holders to formulate an action plan.

7. Monitoring, Transparency, and Continuous Improvement​: The company establishes and maintains a transparent and stakeholder-informed monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system.​

effectiveness criterion 6

our approach

financial materiality

Stakeholder Engagement Main Page > Four Pillars > ​Effectiveness Criterion 5

5. Trust and Accountability

The company establishes a grievance mechanism and other procedures, tailored to the context, to build rights holder trust and accountability for its actions. 

what this means

questions for portfolio companies

What to look for

Issue & SEctor considerations

for workers

High risk situations

• Do you fully and clearly explain to affected stakeholders you engage with the purpose of engagement as well as how the information you obtain will be used?
• Do you invite affected stakeholders to participate in designing the engagement process?[1]
• Are rights holders in fact using the grievance mechanism?
• Are grievances being resolved? If not, why not? How long does it take to resolve complaints? 
• Do you publicly disclose complaints, how they were investigated, and the timeline to resolution?
• How are you communicating the resolution or non-resolution of grievances to affected rights holders and your stakeholders at large?

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[1] Shauna Curphey and Jared Cole, “Stakeholder Engagement in Human Rights Due Diligence,” A Guide to Human Rights Due Diligence for Lawyers (Chicago: American Bar Association, January 2, 2022), https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=4178446.