Toward Effective Stakeholder Dialogue

Abstract

Acompany’s license to operate and grow is no longer seen exclusively in terms of maximizing profits. Embedding an organization in society—in a sustainable manner—has become a condition for continuity and growth. Sustainable development requires that a company’s performance be valued positively by the stakeholders, in financial, environmental, and social terms. 1 The financial bottom line moves aside for the triple bottom line, 2 in which profits are linked to environmental (planet) and social (people) value. To an increasing extent, both primary and secondary stakeholders are calling companies to account directly for their triple bottom line. “Civil society is demanding greater accountability and transparency from business” according to the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. 3 The number of international NGOs registered by the Union of International Associations has more than doubled since 1985, and now amounts to 40,000. 4 However, the public’s impression of how companies deal with issues of sustainability does not always seem to be positive. Research by CSR Europe in 2000 revealed that half the European population believes that insufficient attention is paid to socially responsible business practice. A study by the Conference Board showed that half the U.S. population said that, when making recent purchases, they had taken the social performance of the company into consideration. 5 In most countries, the government