Stakeholder Engagement
Relevant stakeholders are chosen based on their influence or necessary contributions towards the continued success of our company, value chain, and the plastics industry. We utilize varying mechanisms of engagement with each individual stakeholder group to ensure effective collaboration and identify and achieve our collective environmental and social goals.
Our Employees
Our employees are our most valuable asset, with employee wellbeing, health, and safety being our number one priority. Employee feedback helps us ensure that all employees feel safe, included, and that they have opportunities to grow. We conduct an annual employee engagement survey which gives employees a formal opportunity to anonymously provide feedback on many aspects of the employee experience. We also encourage an open dialogue throughout the course of normal work days as well as during formal performance reviews. In addition, quarterly townhall meetings for each division help keep employees up to date and give them the opportunity to ask further questions.
Our Customers
Customers are our most critical external stakeholders, and it is important we meet or exceed their expectations. Engaging with our customers regularly ensures we bring them the solutions they need to achieve their personal goals. Our teams engage frequently with customers on an individual level at regular intervals to assess progress against their goals. We also track the announcements and public reporting of our customers to ensure we have a broad understanding of their individual needs. Additionally, we disclose performance metrics annually to customers using several standardized reporting platforms, such as CDP and EcoVadis.
Our Investor
Engagement with our investors is vital to determine the issues that are most important to them and the sustainability alignments that they require. Their feedback has continually pushed us to broaden our reporting boundaries and improve our sustainability ratings. We regularly engage with both mainstream investors and those from the socially responsible investing (SRI) community. As sustainability has become more mainstream, we are increasingly being asked to provide data on sustainability issues from both investment groups. We strive to provide the most accurate and timely data so our investors can make confident investment decisions. In addition to our own reporting, which we publish according to several pertinent indices (e.g., GRI, SASB, TCFD), we also participate annually in several sustainability ratings and rankings to ensure we are properly evaluated and represent our company to the best of our ability. Berry’s leadership team frequently engages with stockholders to receive feedback on governance, business performance, Board of Directors composition, executive compensation, and sustainability priorities, including progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and sustainability leadership. This feedback is reported to the Board of Directors.
Our Suppliers
Our suppliers are important partners, with whom a good relationship is vital to our long-term success. We work closely with our suppliers in order to ensure alignment and best-practice on evolving material solutions, which also benefits the wider plastics industry. We use EcoVadis to assess suppliers’ sustainability performance in combination with their inherent risk, based on industry and country. We aim to use the results to improve both individual company and category performance over time as well as initiate an open dialogue with suppliers about potential risk areas. In addition, we have quarterly meetings with our largest resin suppliers to discuss potential collaborative projects and material issues.
Our Communities
We strive to support the communities where we work and serve, and therefore consider them a critical stakeholder. Our global footprint enables us to create substantial community impact around the world. Community engagement is encouraged at a corporate level, where community support campaigns and product donations can be supported globally. Further community engagement is handled at a local level, as all our facilities strive to support their local communities however possible.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
NGOs provide an important perspective on many issues (e.g., plastic waste, global warming, human rights, chemical safety, diversity, equity, and inclusion, etc.). Their deeper knowledge and different perspectives are important for proactively addressing risks and leading both our company and the plastics industry in a positive direction. We directly interact with NGOs on a range of issues, primarily as part of the initiatives in which we participate. While most direct interactions are focused on challenges in the plastics industry, we also engage with NGOs on issues such as global warming and chemical safety. There are also many NGOs that are known thought leaders on important subject matters (e.g., Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, etc.) whose publications we track. We want to ensure we are comparing ourselves against the highest standards, which continue to evolve.
Governments & Regulators
The products and services we provide, as well as our operational inputs and outputs, can be regulated. We engage with regulatory stakeholders to ensure they have a comprehensive understanding of our business and industry when making decisions that affect our operations. We do not participate in political spending. We do engage with our representatives on matters that could affect Berry, our employees, or the environment, if and when required. We also work with a wide range of organizations and trade associations to contribute to advancing our industry and to stay informed on developments that could influence our business.