Case study: How VR Group creates economic value for its stakeholders
VR Group is a passenger, logistics and maintenance service company owned by the Finnish state. VR Group seeks to be a pioneer in responsible business and to help its customers and stakeholders achieve their sustainable development goals, creating long-term value for all. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report by VR 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.
Abstract
As a significant operator in society, VR Group continuously tries to build cooperation with its various stakeholders, generating sustainable value for each and every stakeholder group. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders VR Group took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for suppliers
- create economic value for the state
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) VR Group has identified;
- How VR Group proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by VR Group to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report VR Group identified a range of material issues, such as fair and transparent business practices, traffic safety, carbon handprint of own operations, personnel diversity and engagement. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for VR 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 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 VR Group engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Passengers | · Surveys, studies and reports concerning customers · Customer feedback, social media and targeted marketing |
| Logistics customers, business partners | · Action plans with customers |
| Personnel | · Leadership work and management, performance reviews · Internal communications, e.g. via info sessions, Intranet, internal newsletters and Yammer (internal social network) · Employee surveys, occupational healthcare · Dialogue with personnel organisations |
| The state as an owner
| · Regular discussions with the owner · Interim reports · The report of the Board of Directors and the financial statements · The corporate governance statement |
| National decision-makers | · Discussions with authorities, such as the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Parliament, municipal decision-makers and other regional authorities |
| International decision-makers | · Dialogue with EU decision-making bodies |
| Other authorities, including the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom | · Cooperation groups and other regular discussions with the authorities |
| Personnel organisations | · Regular discussions with management, the shop steward organisation and personnel organisations |
| Interest groups and NGOs | · Cooperation with, for example, the Confederation of Finnish Industries, the Service Sector Employers Palta and the Finland Chamber of Commerce · Member of the Climate Leadership Council and FIBS, among others · Active dialogue with, for example, youth and disability organisations · Member of various logistics industry associations |
| International organisations | · Participation in the activities of, for example, the CER and the UIC |
| Media | · Media releases and events · Interviews · Telephone service for the media · Social media · Websites |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics VR Group engaged with its stakeholders through workshops, a stakeholder survey and stakeholder interviews.
What actions were taken by VR Group to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report VR Group reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2022, VR Group paid EUR 9 million in employer’s contributions.
- Creating economic value for suppliers
- In 2022, VR Group paid over EUR 650 million in purchases from suppliers.
- Creating economic value for the state
- In 2022, VR Group paid EUR 96.8 million to the state.
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 VR 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:
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