Case study: How Biesse Group creates economic value for its stakeholders
Biesse Group is an international company that designs, manufactures, and distributes systems and machinery for processing wood, glass, stone, metal, plastic and composite materials for the furniture, housing & construction, automotive and aerospace sectors, operating in over 160 countries. In 2021, the economic value distributed by Biesse Group exceeded €710 million.
This case study is based on the 2021 Sustainability Report by Biesse Group, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Biesse Group seeks to always meet the expectations of its stakeholders creating long-term value for all of them Tweet This!, while also contributing to the sustainable development processes of the countries and communities in which it operates. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Biesse Group took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for public administration
- create economic value for lenders
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Biesse Group has identified;
- How Biesse Group proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Biesse Group to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Biesse Group identified a range of material issues, such as business ethics and integrity, health and safety of employees, cyber security, reliability, safety and constant innovation of products and services. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Biesse Group.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Biesse Group engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Trade associations
| · Meetings · Focus groups · Round tables |
| Shareholders and investors
| · General meetings of shareholders · Channels of dialogue used by the Group’s Investor Relations Officer · Company visits |
| Customers
| · Direct customer assistance channels (Biesse Service and Biesse Parts) · Plants and showrooms visits · Invitations to event |
| Financial community | · Participation at events, conventions and conferences · Round tables |
| Employees and their families
| · Channels for the collection of reports of violations of Group regulations · Transparent corporate communication · Round table discussions with unions |
| Suppliers and Trade partners | · Specific meetings · Round tables |
| Sector-specific media and magazines
| · Interviews · Corporate presentations · Corporate events and trade fairs · Press conferences or workshops |
| Trade fair organisers | · Participation at trade fairs · Interviews and contacts |
| PA, government entities and control bodies | · Institutional round tables · Formal communications |
| Trade unions | · Periodic meetings · Round tables |
| Locality, local communities and NGOs
| · Initiatives to engage with local communities · Dialogue with non-profit organisations for the payment of donations, contributions and sponsorships for sport and culture |
| Universities and research centres
| · Workgroups and workshops with university students · Corporate presentations · Career days at partner universities · Partnerships with key universities and schools in Italy and abroad |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Biesse Group engaged with its stakeholders through a survey.
What actions were taken by Biesse Group to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Biesse Group reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, Biesse Group paid €229,365,619 for employee remuneration.
- Creating economic value for public administration
- In 2021, Biesse Group paid €13,854,053 to public administration.
- Creating economic value for lenders
- In 2021, Biesse Group paid €2,595,191 to lenders.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In 2021, Biesse Group spent €566,136 in donations, sponsorships contributions and membership fees.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Biesse Group, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
https://www.biessegroup.com/media/files/2080_bsg_bilancio_sostenibilita_2021_ENG_web.pdf
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