Embed in management systems

1. Embedded Commitment: Has a clear commitment to ongoing stakeholder engagement for their entire value chain, and embeds it in the Company's governance, culture and leadership.

Identify and prioritize Stakeholders

2. Inclusive: Ensures it is listening to a full range of rights-holders across the value chain.
​
3. Assess saliency: Prioritises stakeholder engagements where its operations ​have the potential to cause most harm, and those with the greatest potential to have impact upon their business. ​

Conduct appropriate  activities

​​4. Informed Participation: With input from rights holders and taking into account the context, establishes an on-going two-way process that ensures informed participation of stakeholders, overcomes obstacles, and provides capacity building, as needed.  

5. Trust and Accountability: Establishes a set of principles and practices to build rights holder trust and accountability:  e.g. no bribery, effective grievance mechanism aligned with UNGP 31

Ensure follow through

6. Stakeholder-informed Action Plan: Analyzes information obtained through stakeholder engagement, and formulates a detailed action plan that clear shows it is rights holder informed.

7. Monitoring and Continuous Improvement: Establishes and maintains a robust stakeholder engagement M&E system that includes regular review by rights holders and independent particles.

8. Publicize: Provides detailed and publicly available account of the lessons from the M&E system and how the Company is acting upon them.

Go to Nuts & BOlts

Go to the gateways

Stakeholder Engagement Home > Gateways > Land Use Scenarios

• Establishing a Gold Mine
• Organizing against a Wind Project

<

>

Scenario One: Establishing a Gold Mine​​​

In the remote mountainous region of Sierra Lumina in the Phillipines, home to approximately 5,000 people—including 1,000 households from an Indigenous community—subsistence farming and lush rainforests have long sustained local livelihoods. However, the region also contains one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, attracting the interest of Terra Nova Resources.

Recognizing the economic potential, Terra Nova Resources has secured exploration rights and is committed to aligning its operations with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and its comprehensive Sustainable Development Framework. The company acknowledges that meaningful stakeholder engagement is critical to its success and aims to work collaboratively with affected communities.
​
However, resistance from Indigenous groups emerged immediately due to concerns over displacement, loss of ancestral lands, and environmental degradation. Opposition has occasionally escalated into conflict, underscoring the urgent need for a structured and transparent engagement strategy. In response, Terra Nova Resources plans to implement targeted stakeholder engagement initiatives, prioritizing resettlement planning, securing Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), and conducting a comprehensive health impact assessment to address community concerns and build trust.

See How the Pillars and Effectiveness Criteria Apply

Scenario Two: Organizing against a Wind Project

In the town of San Armonía in Guatemala, a wind energy company established its first large-scale project, VerdeViento I, in 2012. The wind farm, consisting of 145 turbines, was developed by Desarollos Ecológicos de San Armonía (DESA), a subsidiary of an international renewable energy firm. While initially seen as a step toward sustainable development, the project soon faced growing tensions with the local farmers community, whose land tenure is governed by communal decision-making.

Many community members accused the company of failing to obtain proper collective consent, signing contracts that were not legally valid under communal land laws, and failing to provide translations or clear explanations of contract terms. Allegations of environmental degradation and restricted access to farmland further eroded trust, leading to organized resistance and public protests.
​
Now, as DESA prepares to expand with the VerdeViento II project, occupying an additional 300 hectares, it faces strong opposition from local residents. A community resistance committee has mobilized, and tensions remain high. To move forward, the company must rebuild trust through meaningful stakeholder engagement, ensuring that past mistakes are addressed, Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) is secured, and community concerns are transparently integrated into project planning. 

See How the Pillars and Effectiveness Criteria Apply