What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Stantec identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, energy use, environmental compliance, occupational health and safety, non-discrimination, anti-corruption, customer privacy. Among these, promoting employee development stands out as a key material issue for Stantec.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

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 Stantec engages with: 

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Employees	·      Employee engagement surveys ·      Focus groups ·      One-on-one meetings ·      Integrity Hotline (third party) ·      Post-acquisition surveys ·      Diversity and Inclusion councils ·      Career Development Performance Reviews ·      Employee Resource Groups
Clients	·      Regular meetings with account managers ·      Ad-hoc meetings and calls with account and project managers and senior leaders ·      Brown-bag get-togethers to share lessons learned and best practices ·      Client surveys, questionnaires, and requests for proposals ·      Debriefs and bidder conferences for proposed projects ·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events ·      Joint participation on technical committees
Investors	·      Annual General Meetings ·      Earnings conference calls ·      Investor conference presentations ·      Ad-hoc meetings and calls with Investor Relations and Finance teams ·      Investor disclosure requests ·      Industry research and publications ·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events
Communities	·      Stantec in the Community Week (across the Company) ·      Locally driven engagement initiatives (varies by region and locale)
Subcontractors and business partners	·      Subcontractor prequalifications ·      Joint project work ·      Ad-hoc meetings with project managers and senior leaders
Vendors	·      Contract negotiations ·      Quarterly business reviews ·      Ad-hoc meetings with Procurement team
Regulators	·      Interactions during project work ·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events ·      Joint participation on technical committees
Industry	·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events ·      Joint participation on technical committees

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Stantec used various tools and processes to engage with key stakeholders, asking them to identify the sustainability topics that mattered most to them.

What actions were taken by Stantec to promote employee development?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Stantec reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee development:

• Offering learning opportunities
• Stantec provides both internal (e.g. leadership development, project management, commercial acumen) and external training (e.g. job-specific skills, technical skills development, graduate programmes, conferences), also providing opportunities for employees to be coached or mentored. Additionally, Stantec offers knowledge communities and experiential learning like new initiatives, challenging work, and stretch assignments. Virtual learning options give employees flexibility when scheduling learning opportunities and minimise Stantec’s carbon footprint, by reducing business travel. Stantec’s Learning and Development team designs courses and workshops and delivers them to its global workforce. Accredited as an IACET (International Association for Continuing Education and Training) provider, Stantec offers high-quality instructor-led learning opportunities that follow industry-recognised instructional design principles. Content is measurable and based on learning outcomes and objectives, enabling Stantec to provide professional development hours or CEUs (continuing education units) to support employees’ professional licensing requirements. In 2017, Stantec provided integration-focused learning opportunities for nearly 1,400 Canada and US employees from recently acquired companies as well as leadership, technical, and business skills learning programmes in its Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America geographies.

• Providing mentoring
• Stantec believes in learning through exposure and has a mentor-protégé framework that connects mentors with employees at various stages in their development. The mentor-protégé relationship is designed to meet the protégé’s personal and professional needs, with the framework providing best practices, advice, and hands-on worksheets for the mentor and protégé to build a relationship that meets their individual goals.

• Encouraging employee participation in professional associations
• Stantec encourages employee participation in professional and technical associations and societies. Employees are encouraged to obtain their professional registrations, as soon as they are eligible. Financial assistance is often provided by Stantec for memberships and required exams and in many geographies, employees seeking degrees in relevant fields of study can get their tuition reimbursed.

• Providing performance feedback
• Stantec’s annual multidimensional performance appraisals help employees evaluate successes of the previous year and set clearly defined goals and objectives for the coming year. Through assessments, reviews, and coaching from supervisors, employees measure achievements, review their contributions, identify career development and training opportunities, and establish strategic performance objectives.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 404-2 Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs

2) Disclosure 404-3 Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews

 

Disclosure 404-2 Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Business theme: Employee training and education

Disclosure 404-3 Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• Business theme: Gender equality
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Business theme: Employee training and education

 

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, ISEP, 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

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Stantec, 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) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Stantec: 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.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Stantec identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, energy use, environmental compliance, occupational health and safety, non-discrimination, anti-corruption, customer privacy. Among these, supporting Indigenous communities stands out as a key material issue for Stantec.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

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 Stantec engages with: 

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Employees	·      Employee engagement surveys ·      Focus groups ·      One-on-one meetings ·      Integrity Hotline (third party) ·      Post-acquisition surveys ·      Diversity and Inclusion councils ·      Career Development Performance Reviews ·      Employee Resource Groups
Clients	·      Regular meetings with account managers ·      Ad-hoc meetings and calls with account and project managers and senior leaders ·      Brown-bag get-togethers to share lessons learned and best practices ·      Client surveys, questionnaires, and requests for proposals ·      Debriefs and bidder conferences for proposed projects ·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events ·      Joint participation on technical committees
Investors	·      Annual General Meetings ·      Earnings conference calls ·      Investor conference presentations ·      Ad-hoc meetings and calls with Investor Relations and Finance teams ·      Investor disclosure requests ·      Industry research and publications ·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events
Communities	·      Stantec in the Community Week (across the Company) ·      Locally driven engagement initiatives (varies by region and locale)
Subcontractors and business partners	·      Subcontractor prequalifications ·      Joint project work ·      Ad-hoc meetings with project managers and senior leaders
Vendors	·      Contract negotiations ·      Quarterly business reviews ·      Ad-hoc meetings with Procurement team
Regulators	·      Interactions during project work ·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events ·      Joint participation on technical committees
Industry	·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events ·      Joint participation on technical committees

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Stantec engaged, through various tools and processes, with key stakeholders, asking them to identify the sustainability topics that they considered most important.

What actions were taken by Stantec to support Indigenous communities?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Stantec reports that it took the following actions for supporting Indigenous communities:

• Building Aboriginal Partnerships
• For 18 years, Stantec has been the minority partner in and legal operator of various Aboriginal Partnerships. Accordingly, in 2017, seven Aboriginal Partnerships generated $16.8 million in gross revenue for Stantec and partners. Stantec’s Aboriginal Partnerships create shared value for partners, clients, and Stantec that extends beyond revenue. Stantec connects clients to local resources and offers to local Indigenous community members employment, training, hands-on skills development and direct investment, supporting economic growth. Through Stantec’s projects, Indigenous sub- contractors and employees were able to take on increased responsibility as crew leads, attend post-secondary education, and, in one case, start an Indigenous-owned environmental monitoring business. Additionally, Stantec participated in community engagement initiatives – valued at $35,000 – relating directly to the communities of its Aboriginal Partnerships and supported programmes such as Students on Ice, Polar Bike, Food First, Aboriginal Sport Circle-Youth Traditional Games, and the Aboriginal HIPPY reading programme.

• Implementing an Indigenous Relations Programme
• Stantec’s Indigenous Relations Programme promotes positive, productive relationships with Indigenous communities and businesses, supports diversity and inclusion, raises awareness and mutual respect, and guides planning, procurement, project pursuits and project execution. Stantec is also a member of the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business (CCAB), which promotes Indigenous relationships and an economy based on shared prosperity and, in 2017, Stantec’s vice president of Indigenous Relations joined CCAB’s board of directors. Stantec is firmly committed to receiving certification in CCAB’s Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) programme, which supports Indigenous employment, community relations, leadership, and business development. PAR certification signals to communities that a company is a good business partner, supports a workplace that is inclusive of Indigenous Peoples, and is committed to contributing to the growing prosperity of Indigenous communities. In 2017, Stantec supported Indigenous educational programmes in Canada as follows:
  • Sponsored the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Partnership Development Programme and the Indspire Youth Career Fair (an ongoing annual sponsorship)
  • Sponsored the Aboriginal Day Live initiative for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
  • Observed National Indigenous Peoples Day
  • Participated in Orange Shirt Day to honour people who survived abuse in Canadian residential schools
  • Volunteered for Reconciliation Week
  • Sponsored 20 Indigenous students in Stantec’s Edmonton office during Take Our Kids to Work Day, providing a full day of presentations and workshops

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 411-1 Incidents of violations involving rights of indigenous peoples

Disclosure 411-1 Incidents of violations involving rights of indigenous peoples corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
• Business theme: Indigenous rights

 

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, ISEP, 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

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Stantec, 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) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Stantec: 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.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Stantec identified a range of material issues, such as energy use, emissions, occupational health and safety, diversity and equal opportunity, procurement practices, customer privacy. Among these, adhering to ethical business practices stands out as a key material issue for Stantec.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

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 Stantec engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Employees	·      Employee engagement surveys ·      Focus groups ·      One-on-one meetings ·      Integrity Hotline (third party) ·      Post-acquisition surveys ·      Diversity and Inclusion councils ·      Career Development Performance Reviews ·      Employee Resource Groups
Clients	·      Regular meetings with account managers ·      Ad-hoc meetings and calls with account and project managers and senior leaders ·      Brown-bag get-togethers to share lessons learned and best practices ·      Client surveys, questionnaires, and requests for proposals ·      Debriefs and bidder conferences for proposed projects ·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events ·      Joint participation on technical committees
Investors	·      Annual General Meetings ·      Earnings conference calls ·      Investor conference presentations ·      Ad-hoc meetings and calls with Investor Relations and Finance teams ·      Investor disclosure requests ·      Industry research and publications ·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events
Communities	·      Stantec in the Community Week (across the Company) ·      Locally driven engagement initiatives (varies by region and locale)
Subcontractors and business partners	·      Subcontractor prequalifications ·      Joint project work ·      Ad-hoc meetings with project managers and senior leaders
Vendors	·      Contract negotiations ·      Quarterly business reviews ·      Ad-hoc meetings with Procurement team
Regulators	·      Interactions during project work ·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events ·      Joint participation on technical committees
Industry	·      Informal discussions at industry and professional association events ·      Joint participation on technical committees

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Stantec used various tools and processes to ask key stakeholders to focus on their relationship with Stantec, and to identify what sustainability issues mattered most to them.

What actions were taken by Stantec to adhere to ethical business practices?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Stantec reports that it took the following actions for adhering to ethical business practices:

• Implementing a Code of Business Conduct
• Stantec’s Code of Business Conduct Policy explains its expectations for employee behaviour and sets global standards to follow in day-to-day work. All employees, officers, directors and contractors must take Ethics and Code of Business Conduct training once a year. Training topics include ethical behaviour, code of conduct, conflicts of interest, global anti-bribery and anti-corruption, government contracting, harassment and discrimination, privacy, political activities, political and charitable contributions, sponsorships, and social responsibility.

• Providing employees with an integrity hotline
• Stantec encourages employees to speak up if they notice unethical or unlawful behaviours. Employees can report concerns confidentially and anonymously through the Company’s toll-free Integrity Hotline (managed by a third party). Stantec does not tolerate retaliation against employees voicing concerns.

• Dealing with conflicts of interest and corruption risks
• Stantec employees must avoid conflicts of interest at all times when dealing with current or potential clients, subconsultants, vendors, contractors and competitors. To reduce the risk of corruption, Stantec implements appropriate mitigation strategies: all operations are assessed regularly for conflicts of interest and corruption risk, and the economic and political conditions of the markets Stantec serves are closely monitored.

• Implementing a formal approval process for contributions and sponsorships
• Stantec’s policies on charitable contributions and sponsorships are covered in employee training. Requests for contributions and sponsorships go through a formal approval process, with legal counsel oversight if needed. Stantec does not make political contributions to individual politicians, nor does it reimburse employees who choose to make them.

• Applying a Partner Code of Business Conduct
• In 2017, Stantec implemented a new Partner Code of Business Conduct programme to minimise the potential for problems within its supply chain. Accordingly, vendors, subcontractors, and partners are asked to apply business practices consistent with Stantec’s standards. Before being awarded work, they have to agree to comply with Stantec’s Partner Code of Business Conduct, which covers, among others, employment practices, health and safety, environment, human rights, discrimination, anti-bribery, intellectual property and privacy.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption

2) Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures

3) Disclosure 415-1 Political contributions

 

Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

Disclosure 415-1 Political contributions corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Anti-corruption

 

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, ISEP, 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

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Stantec, 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) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Stantec: 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.