Dialogue with Stakeholders

New impetus for continuous improvement

From our perspective, sustainable business makes best sense when risks and opportunities are recognised at any early stage and the interests of our stakeholders are taken into account. This is why – true to its guiding principle of 'Networked Action' – continuous dialogue with relevant stakeholders is crucial for Hermes.

In a topic-related mapping process, we have identified key stakeholders and we are in regular exchanged with the following target groups: employees, customers, clients, contractors, suppliers, business associations, competitors, NGOs, the media, the critical public as well as representatives from business, politics and public authorities.

In view of the different interests and focus topics, we have developed target group-specific dialogue formats to address stakeholders in a targeted manner. In this way, we are looking to anticipate and respond to the expectations and requirements of our stakeholders at an early stage. Topics identified in this way flow into our decision-making. The table below provides an overview.

Hermes uses various forms of communication for dialogue: from surveys and events or workshops to political initiatives and traditional press and public relations work. An intranet platform and a newsroom with a thematic focus on sustainability are key and active channels for this. We also promote interactive networking with our stakeholders to an ever-growing extent through social media – for example though our Twitter channels or the Hermes blog. Our various memberships in associations and initiatives open up other options for cooperative dialogue for us. The 'Hermes Future Forum' for example is an invigorating platform for debating future issues concerning corporate responsibility.

The stakeholder perspective was also important in determining our priority CR issues.

Hermes‘ stakeholders, their critical issues and the corresponding format for dialogue