Maintaining active dialogue with stakeholders

Formalising effective consultation mechanisms

SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT is committed to a constructive consultation policy. The Group constantly strives to ensure that its strategy meets the expectations of civil society. To do so, in 2000 the Group set up a permanent committee of independent experts, the Foresight Advisory Council (FAC). This was followed in 2007 by the launch of a formal stakeholder consultation process, with a larger universe of representatives from civil society: the Stakeholder Sessions.

This FAC permanent consultation structure meets twice a year, 25 founding members from every continent and with varied backgrounds (academics, representatives of associations, international civil servants, etc.). In December 2010, a new Stakeholder Session was held between SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT’s operations departments and a panel of 26 external stakeholders. On that occasion, a set of social action plans was presented focusing on universal access to water, ethics and transparency. A “corporate dialogue” was also initiated on the topic of waste and all aspects of sustainable development (social, societal and environmental).

Fostering community dialogue at local levels

For SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT and its subsidiaries, community dialogue is an integral part of its services. Particularly appreciated by its customers, it is also a way of anchoring the Group’s actions in a long-term collective approach. 

In Jordan for example, its subsidiary Degrémont set up an Environmental Committee when building the As Samra wastewater treatment plant. Made up of representatives of the local community and authorities, this body has been meeting every month since April 2009 to work on the project’s environmental footprint. The committee is also tasked with updating the public on the company’s actions and informing the stakeholders about technical issues. This initiative has already had positive repercussions: the project is better accepted because it is better understood. 

In addition, in 2010, Lyonnaise des Eaux launched an unprecedented consultation initiative in France: “New Ideas For Water”. The aim of this initiative is to harness support from experts in various disciplines, elected officials, representatives of associations, and ordinary citizens. Everyone could express their vision of the water services for tomorrow. Launching this collaborative platform on the internet allowed 100,000 web users to share their thoughts on the value and price of water. These contributions were then summarised in a note to the elected representatives and associations in order to widen and enrich the discussions.

Continually improving the quality of dialogue

SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT supports its subsidiaries in three ways to promote dialogue at local levels:

• It deploys the “Stakeholder Dialogue Toolkit” which sets out a formal map of its stakeholders and their challenges in each of their regions.
• As part of its training programme, the Group holds sessions for managers who want to develop their skills in open communication and dialogue.
• It deploys a programme to raise employee awareness of the new challenges to the Group’s businesses.

The final version of the “Stakeholder Dialogue Toolkit” was completed in April 2011 in the form of a web application. The enhanced, more user-friendly version encourages discussion and data-sharing among the Group’s teams.