Case study: How WSP creates economic value for its stakeholders
WSP is one of the world’s leading professional services firms, providing engineering and design services to clients in the Transportation & Infrastructure, Property & Buildings, Earth & Environment, Power & Energy, Resources and Industry sectors, as well as offering strategic advisory services. WSP’s Operational Excellence pillar focuses on creating value for its clients, people, shareholders, and all other stakeholders. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2020 Global ESG Report by WSP, 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
Managing its resources in an efficient manner so as to generate sustainable, long-term value for its investors and other stakeholders, is a top priority for WSP. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders WSP took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for subconsultants
- create economic value for shareholders
- create economic value for the government
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) WSP has identified;
- How WSP proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by WSP to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Global ESG Report WSP identified a range of material issues, such as ethical business practices, diversity and equal opportunity, employee training and education, occupational health and safety. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for WSP.
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 WSP engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees
| · Employee surveys · Townhall meetings · Information cascaded from leadership, via team meetings · Global internal communications (intranet, emails, newsletters) and local intranets · Annual Report · ESG Report · Leadership interviews · Social media campaigns for World Observance Days |
| Investors and analysts
| · Investor relations activities including: investor days, meetings, roadshows, conferences, discussion with senior executives and market sector experts, conference calls · Website postings · Financial reports · Press releases and media relations · Annual Information Form · Annual Report · ESG Report · Annual Meeting of Shareholders · Site visits to explain WSP’s project work |
| Clients
| · Project communications · Project feedback received from clients · Client interviews · Thought leadership communications · Workshops and panels during events |
| Business partners, including subcontractors, joint ventures and consortiums | · Project communications
|
| Suppliers | · Procurement process · Questionnaires in onboarding process · Engaging with major suppliers on carbon footprint of goods and services |
| Governments, including regulatory authorities | · Project communications involving government agencies
|
| Industry bodies | · Participation on key industry association committees · Attendance at industry functions · Sponsorship of industry events and research · Trade show displays · Thought leadership |
| Local communities
| · Consultation on behalf of clients within projects · Local community involvement/charity work · Sponsorship and donations |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics WSP engaged with its stakeholders through questionnaires and individual conversations. External stakeholders included investors and clients, while internal stakeholders included employees, regional sustainability leaders and corporate function leaders overseeing areas related to WSP’s environmental, social and governance impacts.
What actions were taken by WSP to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2020 Global ESG Report WSP reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2020, WSP spent 2B CAD in personnel costs.
- Creating economic value for subconsultants
- In 2020, WSP paid 9B CAD to subconsultants.
- Creating economic value for shareholders
- In 2020, WSP spent 3M CAD in cash dividends paid to shareholders.
- Creating economic value for the government
- In 2020, WSP paid 5M CAD in income taxes.
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 WSP, 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.wsp.com/en-GL/investors/reports-and-filings/esg-report
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