Stakeholder dialogue
Hydro has a long tradition of conducting a dialogue with the relevant parties affected by our activities. Regular meetings take place with unions in Norway and the works councils in, for example, Germany and France.
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| Hydro places emphasis on openness and reliability in its contact with various interested parties. |
Dialogue with customers, suppliers, other business partners, local authorities and non-governmental organizations are also important.
As a minimum requirement, stakeholder dialogues are carried out in meetings and information campaigns etc., in accordance with the official regulations. We identify and initiate dialogue with relevant stakeholders affected by our activities to ensure that all views are aired and our decisions communicated. In major projects, stakeholder dialogue is a requirement both through Hydro directives, local law, World Bank guidelines, the Equator principles etc., to which Hydro generally adheres.
Environmental and social impact assessment
As a part of the decision process of the Qatalum project, an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) was performed. A dialogue process was performed with a number of stakeholders, such as the authorities, educational institutions, and embassies representing the expatriate workforce, the Qatar Human Rights Commission, business partners and other industries.
A dialogue process with representatives of the plant's local neighbourhood community was included. A public hearing on the environmental and social impact assessment was held. This included public meetings in the local cities of Mesaieed and Doha. The meetings were announced in all newspapers in Qatar, and facts about the project and an abstract of the ESIA was printed and distributed in the form of an insert in all Qatari newspapers.
Guidelines
In connection with the closure of the Stade plant in Germany in 2006, a comprehensive stakeholder mapping and analysis was performed. Dialogue and communication took place with e.g. employees, works councils, local authorities and the media. When the process started, public opinion was to a large extent critical to Hydro. Continued dialogue, however, and not least a will to find solutions for those affected, have brought about a change in the general opinion.
New guidelines for stakeholder dialogue were finalized and made available on our intranet in 2007. The guidelines are based on Hydro's own experience and principles developed through an international working group headed by the Institute of Social and Ethical Accountability. The guidelines aim at establishing a systematic process to identify and attend to relevant stakeholders, while securing the transfer of knowledge in the organization. In 2008 we will work further on the implementation.
Restructuring in the US
