5.3.2 Stakeholder identification
Stakeholders are organizations or individuals that have one or more interests in any decision or activity of an organization. Because these interests can be affected by an organization, a relationship with the organization is created. This relationship need not be formal. The relationship created by this interest exists whether or not the parties are aware of it. An organization may not always be aware of all its stakeholders, although it should attempt to identify them. Similarly, many stakeholders may not be aware of the potential of an organization to affect their interests.
In this context, interest refers to the actual or potential basis of a claim, that is, to demand something that is owed or to demand respect for a right. Such a claim need not involve financial demands or legal rights. Sometimes it can simply be the right to be heard. The relevance or ignificance of an interest is best determined by its relationship to sustainable development. Understanding how individuals or groups are or can be affected by an organization's decisions and activities will make it possible to identify the interests that establish a relationship with the organization. Therefore, the organization's determination of the impacts of its decisions and activities will facilitate identification of its most important stakeholders.
Organizations may have many stakeholders. Moreover, different stakeholders have various and sometimes competing interests. For example, community residents' interests could include the positive impacts of an organization, such as employment, as well as the negative impacts of the same organization, such as pollution.
Some stakeholders are an integral part of an organization. These include any members, employees or owners of the organization. These stakeholders share a common interest in the purpose of the organization and in its success. This does not mean, however, that all their interests regarding the organization will be the same.
The interests of most stakeholders can be related to the social responsibility of the organization and often are very similar to some of the interests of society. An example is the interest of a property owner whose property loses value because of a new source of pollution. Not all stakeholders of an organization belong to organized groups that have the purpose of representing their interests to specific organizations. Many stakeholders may not be organized at all, and for this reason, they may be overlooked or ignored. This problem may be especially important with regard to vulnerable groups and future generations. Groups advocating social or environmental causes may be stakeholders of an organization whose decisions and activities have a relevant and significant impact on these causes.
An organization should examine whether groups claiming to speak on behalf of specific stakeholders or advocating specific causes are representative and credible. In some cases, it will not be possible for important interests to be directly represented. For instance, children rarely own or control organized groups of people; wildlife cannot do so. In this situation, an organization should give attention to the views of credible groups seeking to protect such interests.
To identify stakeholders an organization should ask itself the following questions:
- To whom does the organization have legal obligations?
- Who might be positively or negatively affected by the organization's decisions or activities?
- Who is likely to express concerns about the decisions and activities of the organization?
- Who has been involved in the past when similar concerns needed to be addressed?
- Who can help the organization address specific impacts?
- Who can affect the organization's ability to meet its responsibilities?
- Who would be disadvantaged if excluded from the engagement?
- Who in the value chain is affected?
