'Stakeholder engagement' is jargon for something companies have done for decades – talking to people who are important to them. The difference is that now companies are expected to discuss not only their products and services, but also social, ethical and environmental issues.
We want to understand the views of our stakeholders and explain our perspectives. We know that we will not satisfy everyone’s demands but we believe that being open, honest and respectful of different views is the right approach to maintain good relationships. We listen to our stakeholders and respond to their concerns.
The feedback we receive from external stakeholders informs our own internal judgment about CR priorities for our business. Our aim is for both Vodafone and its stakeholders to benefit from the process. In cases where we do not agree or cannot respond to the feedback we have received, we aim to explain our position honestly and openly.
Stakeholder specific dialogue
Our stakeholders are the people who can affect our business or who are affected by it. These include investors, employees and suppliers, who are directly affected by our business performance, and consumers who relate to us as a service provider. Many more in local communities see our network infrastructure and some have strong views about it. CR opinion formers are often concerned about specific issues, and governments and regulators can affect our business through new legislation and regulations. We tailor our engagement processes to suit each different stakeholder group.
We engage with stakeholders in a range of ways, including our formal CR Dialogues, one-to-one meetings, routine engagement on individual issues, partnerships, forums and at conferences.
This section of the report describes our engagement with the following stakeholder groups:
We also engage with:
- Governments and regulators (see public policy)
- Local communities (on network deployment)
- Employees (see our people)
- Suppliers (see supply chain)
Issue specific dialogue
We have refined our approach to engagement to focus on specific relevant issues. This allows a more in-depth conversation with the people that have a real interest in and particular expertise on a specific issue. Focused dialogue helps us identify solutions to new issues and provides our stakeholders with the opportunity to influence our thinking.
We call this approach, 'CR Dialogues'. The key features are:
- We choose emerging issues on which our views are forming and there is a need to widen the debate. These are usually issues of wider social, environmental and corporate relevance.
- We aim to contribute to the debate and level of knowledge by commissioning and publishing research work in connection with the 'CR Dialogues'.
- We narrow the scope of the subjects discussed so that we can bring together specialists with extensive knowledge to advance the wider debate.
Vodafone and its stakeholders benefit more from this kind of engagement. In certain areas, by advancing the debate we may also contribute to raising standards in the industry. See CR Dialogues for details.
Further information on our stakeholder engagement on specific issues is outlined within the issue sections of this website. We have also asked for feedback from individual experts on specific issues, which we have published unedited in our Corporate Responsibility Report for the last three years. See engaging with experts.
Local engagement
Our local operating companies also engage with stakeholders on local issues. See local operating company engagement for examples.
Stakeholder engagement through our local operating companies and at Group level forms part of our research to identify key issues for our business.
