Stakeholder engagement
We know that we don't have all the answers. Listening, learning, responding and working in partnership with our stakeholders is important to the way we do business.
Our approach to Responsible Banking is to manage and report progress on the topics of greatest significance to our business and our stakeholders. Our stakeholders’ insight and feedback on our programme help shape its future direction and encourage us to be open and transparent.
The majority of our stakeholder dialogue is driven by Business Units, engaging with their specific stakeholder groups. As a universal bank operating in more than 50 countries, we have a wide range of stakeholders with different views, which are best managed at the Business Unit or country level. We aim to strike a balance between local and Group-level engagement. For instance, our community investment has global themes but also allows local businesses to invest in line with the needs of their local communities. Our global diversity programme is focussed on gender but businesses in the United States or South Africa are responsive to local issues such as the employment of minorities or Black Economic Empowerment. Where appropriate, we use multiple methods to strengthen stakeholder relationships. For example, with large international charities, we typically have a Group relationship which is enhanced by regional dialogue and support.
We have several established mechanisms to gather stakeholder views, ranging from large scale quantitative opinion surveys to small, local sessions on particular issues. We hold regular dialogue with representatives from the media and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), as well as consultations with consumer groups and contributions to industry-wide discussions.
We look to increase the effectiveness of the mechanisms for engagement with each of our key stakeholder groups. Although it is impossible to provide a full picture of stakeholder engagement across all our businesses and geographies, the table below provides an overview of the engagement mechanisms and key issues for our main stakeholders at a Group level.
