Case study: How IIAC builds trust with local communities
After opening in 2001, Incheon International Airport has become the gateway to Korea, handling 3/4 of the arrivals to and departures from the country. With 90 airlines connecting 186 cities worldwide, having served almost 50 million passengers in 2015, Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) seeks to grow as an institution trusted and respected by the people through its culture of sharing. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2016 Social Responsibility Report by IIAC published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database 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.
Abstract
Abstract
IIAC is constantly carrying out intensive social contribution activities in various areas, to improve the quality of life for local residents and set up a communication channel with local communities. In order to build trust with local communities IIAC took action to:
- promote education
- support environmental sustainability
- promote culture and social welfare
Subscribe for free and read the rest of this case study
Please subscribe to the SustainCase Newsletter to keep up to date with the latest sustainability news and gain access to over 2000 case studies. These case studies demonstrate how companies are dealing responsibly with their most important impacts, building trust with their stakeholders (Identify > Measure > Manage > Change).
With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) IIAC has identified;
- How IIAC proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by IIAC to build trust with local communities
Already Subscribed? Type your email below and click submit
What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2016 Social Responsibility Report IIAC identified a range of material issues, such as corporate transparency and ethical management, product and service safety, win-win growth, employee welfare and rights, prevention of environmental pollution. Among these, building trust with local communities stands out as a key material issue for IIAC.
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 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 IIAC engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| The People/National Assembly
| · Homepage · Corporate news letter · Business report · Investor relations · ALIO |
| Government
| · Homepage · Corporate news letter · Business report · Investor relations · ALIO |
| Media
| · Homepage · Corporate news letter · Business report · Investor relations · ALIO |
| Local community | · Volunteers · Committee for specialised business for local schools |
| Employee/family | · Conversation with CEO · Vision workshop · VOE · Labour-management meeting · HR Ombudsman |
| Labour union | · Conversation with CEO · Vision workshop · VOE · Labour-management meeting · HR Ombudsman |
| Business partners | · Meeting with representatives · Middle management meeting · Site management meeting with 2nd tier business partners · Communication workshop |
| In-house retailers | · Service improvement committee · Airline operation committee · Business facility operator meeting · Free-trade zone operation committee |
| Airport users including passengers | · VOC customer committee · SNS |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics IIAC carried out a stakeholder survey among business partners/ construction companies, employees, in-house retailers/ logistics companies, customers, the local community and airline/ ground staff. IIAC asked stakeholders to rank issues according to importance, on a 5-point scale.
What actions were taken by IIAC to build trust with local communities?
In its 2016 Social Responsibility Report IIAC reports that it took the following actions for building trust with local communities: foster
- Promoting education
- To foster future talents, IIAC operates a local talent nurturing programme in different phases, from child care to university education. Accordingly, through the ‘specialised project for local schools’, an educational contribution programme, IIAC has been providing, annually, a total of KRW 600 million to 17 schools. In addition, IIAC supported, with KRW 2.5 billion for its operating expenses, the ‘Haneul High School’, the autonomous private high school established to develop the airport’s surrounding region and improve the living conditions of the airport’s employees – also planning to donate a total of KRW 10.8 billion over 5 years, from 2016 to 2020. IIAC has additionally awarded the Incheon Airport Scholarship to a total of 67 students in local elementary/ middle/ high schools and aviation universities, which amounted to KRW 130 million.
- Supporting environmental sustainability
- IIAC created, in collaboration with the ‘Forest for Life’, the ‘World Peace Forest’ of approximately 472,910m² in the surrounding areas of the Airport New Town and has been constantly supporting local residents’ activities of building the forest, promoting an urban environment that puts people and nature in harmony. In 2015, IIAC also donated KRW 70 million for 443 trees of the civic commemoration plantings, the development of a symbolic space, the spring/ autumn forest festival and training programmes, among others. Due to these activities, IIAC has been recognised by the Korea Forest Service for ‘contributing to the vitalisation of local communities by creating resident-centred green areas’ and was awarded the 2015 Urban Green Movement Excellent Corporation award.
- Promoting culture and social welfare
- IIAC created the Haneul Culture Centre in the vicinity of the Airport New Town for the residents of the Yeongjong and Yongyu areas, who had difficulty in receiving cultural benefits and in 2015, offered approximately KRW 40 million for the culture centre’s heating costs. IIAC also sponsored, with KRW 2 billion, Incheon United FC, a citizen-shareholding professional football team, contributing to the revitalisation of sports in the Incheon region. Moreover, IIAC delivered gifts to 5 social welfare facilities in the region during the holiday season, and promoted local social welfare by donating specially-equipped vehicles for the elderly and disabled.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 203-1 Infrastructure investments and services supported
2) Disclosure 203-2 Significant indirect economic impacts
Disclosure 203-1 Infrastructure investments and services supported corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
- Business theme: Infrastructure investments
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
- Business theme: Infrastructure investments
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
- Business theme: Infrastructure investments
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
- Business theme: Infrastructure investments
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
- Business theme: Infrastructure investments
Disclosure 203-2 Significant indirect economic impacts corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
- Business theme: Availability of products and services for those on low incomes, Economic development in areas of high poverty
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
- Business theme: Changing the productivity of organizations, sectors, or the whole economy
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages
- Business theme: Access to medicines
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
- Business theme: Changing the productivity of organizations, sectors, or the whole economy, Indirect impact on job creation, Jobs supported in the supply chain
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
- Business theme: Economic development in areas of high poverty, Foreign direct investment
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
- Business theme: Foreign direct investment
Disclosure 413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs does not correspond to any SDG.
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.
Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.
7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started
Any size business can start taking sustainability action
GRI, IEMA, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom (venue: London School of Economics)
- Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
- Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
- Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP.
- Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement
References:
1) This case study is based on published information by IIAC, 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 original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page
3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
Note to IIAC: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.