They may support or oppose the decisions, be influential in the organization or within the community in which it operates, hold relevant official positions or be affected in the long term.
Stakeholder engagement is used by mature organizations in the private and public, especially when they want to develop understanding and agreement around solutions on complex issues and large projects.
This differentiates stakeholder engagement from communications processes that seek to issue a message or influence groups to agree with a decision that is already made.
Stakeholder engagement provides opportunities to further align business practices or knowledge production with societal needs and expectations, helping to drive long-term sustainability and shareholder value.
Stakeholder engagement is intended to help the practitioners and their organization, to compete in an increasingly complex and ever-changing business environment, while at the same time bringing about systemic change towards sustainable development.
The main guidelines on the preparation of non-financial statements (GRI Standards and IIRC