INITIATIVES AND PARTNERSHIPS

To truly understand, you have to truly listen. That’s why companies are so keen to engage in dialogue with their stakeholders. An open approach to sharing opinions and exchanging insights is the key to understanding the expectations of different interest groups as they evolve over time. Whether through focus groups, surveys or participation in discussion platforms: Businesses need to gather insights into the concerns and priorities of their stakeholders – and reflect these insights in their day-to-day activities.

Discuss, engage, involve

At Henkel, our approach to sustainability is shaped by our interactions with our stakeholders. We’re convinced that open, ongoing dialogue with all groups that have an interest in our business is the key to making sure we’re working on the challenges that matter most. Through direct conversation, participation in multi­-stakeholder initiatives and support for dialog platforms, we aim to share our unique knowledge and gather insights – and then integrate what we’ve learned into our products, services and business activities. We want to understand our stakeholders. That’s why we truly listen.

Dialogue with our stakeholders

Understanding and mapping the social demands that stakeholders of all kinds place on our company is a key component of our sustainability management. Both internal stakeholders, such as employees and external stakeholders, such as customers and suppliers, are considered. We also hold numerous memberships in industry associations, are part of global organizations, such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development ‏(WBCSD) and the World Economic Forum ‏(WEF), and engage in political and social dialog, for example, with organizations at the European level.

To better understand the expectations and perspectives of our stakeholders and to engage in dialog that is more targeted and solution-oriented, we continuously monitor the opinions at several levels, for example through surveys, in direct dialog, in multi-stakeholder initiatives and through dialog platforms.

Open engagement with stakeholders helps us understand their expectations and perspectives and enables solution-oriented dialog. This dialog fosters mutual understanding between stakeholders and our Company, building societal acceptance for our corporate decisions. It also serves as a source of new ideas, contributes to innovation and risk management and underpins the development of our sustainability strategy and reporting.

Cooperation along the value chain and beyond

We are convinced that we can only drive sustainable change by forging strong partnerships along our entire value chain: from the purchase of raw materials and packaging materials all the way through to our company, including production, logistics and use of our products by consumers, as well as reuse in material cycles.

Everybody can make a difference

For many consumer products, the majority of the related environmental footprint is generated during the use of the product. That’s why promoting responsible-minded behavior is so important. As a result, manufacturers, retailers and distributors are joining forces to develop platforms that inform consumers about sustainable products and encourage them to use products responsibly.