How can you report on stakeholder engagement in your supply chain?

1 Define your objectives

Before you start reporting on stakeholder engagement in your supply chain, you need to have a clear purpose and scope for your report. What are the main goals and outcomes of your engagement activities? How do they align with your business strategy and values? Who are your target audiences and what information do they need or want to know? How will you measure and evaluate your progress and impact? By defining your objectives, you can focus your report on the most relevant and meaningful aspects of your stakeholder engagement.

2 Identify your stakeholders

The next step is to identify who are your key stakeholders in your supply chain and how they affect or are affected by your business activities. You can use various tools and methods to map and prioritize your stakeholders, such as stakeholder analysis, materiality assessment, surveys, interviews, or workshops. You should also consider the diversity and inclusiveness of your stakeholder groups, and ensure that you capture their different perspectives, interests, and expectations. By identifying your stakeholders, you can understand their needs and concerns, and tailor your engagement and reporting accordingly.

3 Describe your approach

Once you have identified your stakeholders, you need to describe how you engage with them in your supply chain. You should explain the principles and standards that guide your engagement practices, such as inclusivity, transparency, accountability, and responsiveness. You should also describe the methods and channels that you use to communicate and interact with your stakeholders, such as meetings, consultations, feedback mechanisms, or partnerships. You should also highlight the frequency and quality of your engagement, and how you ensure that it is consistent and effective across your supply chain.

4 Report your outcomes

The most important part of your report is to show the outcomes and impacts of your stakeholder engagement in your supply chain. You should provide evidence and examples of how your engagement has influenced your decisions, actions, and performance in various areas, such as environmental, social, governance, or economic issues. You should also report on the benefits and challenges of your engagement, and how you have addressed or mitigated any risks or conflicts. You should also report on the feedback and satisfaction of your stakeholders, and how you have responded to their suggestions or complaints.

5 Demonstrate your improvement

Finally, you should demonstrate how you are continuously improving your stakeholder engagement in your supply chain. You should show how you monitor and evaluate your engagement activities, and how you use the results to inform your future plans and actions. You should also show how you learn from your best practices and mistakes, and how you share your lessons and insights with your stakeholders and other parties. You should also show how you set and track your goals and targets for your stakeholder engagement, and how you report on your progress and achievements.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?