Stakeholder dialogue and materiality analysis

Gränges seeks to establish long-term and transparent dialogues with stakeholders. The key issues raised in the stakeholder dialogue constitute the main parts of the company’s materiality assessment and reporting.

Stakeholder dialogue

Stakeholder inclusiveness is a priority for Gränges and the company maintains an ongoing dialogue with its stakeholders to ensure that it meets their expectations. Additionally, as part of the sustainability reporting process, Gränges engages selected stakeholders in a structured dialogue to identify key sustainability topics and reporting content.

Based on the nature of the company’s operations, Gränges has identified five main stakeholder groups: customers, suppliers, employees, society, and investors.

In 2016, Gränges conducted a web-based sustainability survey focusing on questions related to relevant industry standards, reporting frameworks, and issues previously raised by stakeholders. Respondents also had the option of raising additional sustainability issues in the survey. The company invited all employees in Sweden and Asia, and selected representatives from the other stakeholder groups, to respond to the survey. To obtain a more thorough understanding of stakeholders’ expectations of Gränges, the survey was complemented by interviews with a selection of representatives from respective stakeholder group in Sweden.

In 2017, Gränges invited US employees and selected representatives from other stakeholder groups in the US to take part in the webbased sustainability survey. In-depth interviews were also carried out with representatives from each stakeholder group in Sweden, China, and the US to ensure that the company’s sustainability reporting is in line with stakeholder expectations.

Materiality analysis

Results from the stakeholder dialogue lay the foundation for Gränges’ materiality analysis.

In 2016, Gränges carried out its first materiality analysis. It was conducted by a working group made up of the Gränges management team and other senior executives. Areas that were highlighted in the stakeholder dialogues were evaluated according to a materiality analysis where both stakeholders’ expectations of Gränges as well as Gränges’ economic, social, and environmental impact were considered.

The materiality analysis resulted in Gränges defining eight material topics for its work on sustainability and communication with stakeholders. The materiality analysis is reviewed annually to ensure that Gränges is focusing on relevant issues and communicates with stakeholders in line with their expectations. Following the 2017 stakeholder dialogue, the materiality analysis was revised and water was added to the list of material topics while customer satisfaction was removed.

Gränges’ material aspects