3 - Introduction to engagement

Introduction to the progress of step 3: definitions, governance, requirements and deliverables.

The vision of the Bilan Carbone® is not solely focused on carbon accounting and the definition of a transition plan. It is an approach in which the Stakeholder engagement phases are fundamental and ambitious. To facilitate the move to action, the Bilan Carbone® approach requires a Stakeholder engagement around the Bilan Carbone® project and the transition plan that will be deployed.

Stakeholder engagement continues continuously throughout the Bilan Carbone® approach. The timing of each of the Stakeholder engagement phases is given here as indicative: the important thing is that the right messages are delivered to the right targets.

To achieve engagement, the Bilan Carbone® approach involves several phases : outreach the issues to raise awareness, empower stakeholders, co-create the actions, then reported and communicate the results. These different Stakeholder engagement phases must be adapted to the different maturity levels, steps, stakeholders and organisational profiles:

Step 3.1.1 : At the launch and framing of the Bilan Carbone®
Step 3.1.2 : At the start of data collection
Step 3.1.3 : For the construction of the GHG profile
Step 3.1.4 : For the construction of the transition plan
Step 3.1.5 : In summary of the approach

All terms related to the Stakeholder engagement steps are explained in the glossary. They are reminded below:

Stakeholder engagement action : it is the combination of a Stakeholder engagement phase (awareness-raising, empowerment, coconstruction, or restitution), during a step, with one or more targets, with a more or less specific adaptation of messages according to the organisational profile.

Presentation of the different Stakeholder engagement phases:

Awareness and popularization 🧠 : The main issue of awareness-raising and popularization of the issues is to understand in order to act : strengthen the understanding of essential information around energy-climate issues, and to bring people together around the approach to ensure better integration of the transition plan.
Objective : Create the necessary groundwork for a good understanding of the issues, acceptance of change and future actions to be undertaken, and enable the organisation to identify the risks and opportunities associated with the ecological transition.
Indicator : Level of knowledge and understanding of the issues.
Empowerment 🙋: The main issue of empowerment is to give everyone a role in the approach. It is up to stakeholders to become aware that every degree matters, that every action matters and therefore that every employee matters in the implementation of these actions. It is up to the organisation to realise that this is about sustainability. New responsibilities will emerge from the approach and will make it possible to enhance existing positions by taking into account an essential component related to the sustainability of the activity.
Objective : Involve and enable each stakeholder to get moving and take action.
Indicator : Level of participation in the approach and level of taking action.
Coconstruction 💭: The main purpose of coconstruction is to highlight initiatives, sharing and consultation. Coconstruction is central, and is therefore closely linked to other types of Stakeholder engagement: the consulted stakeholders must have a sufficient level of information about the approach, which requires upstream an 🧠effective awareness-raising and popularization, as well as a 📢 transparent restitution and communication. Coconstruction gives people a voice, makes them participate, which makes it possible to 🙋empower. It makes it possible to identify the carbon reduction axes that the organisation and its stakeholders can consider, based on their knowledge (of the process, the product, the organisation).
Objective : Confront the choice of actions with real possibilities and potential alternatives, to arrive at a transition plan perceived as a common project by the organisation and its stakeholders.
Indicator : Level of participation in the coconstruction of the transition plan.
Reporting and communication 📢 : The main issue of reporting and communication is to enable the appropriation of results and actions by the different concerned stakeholders. To link global issues, local issues, the organisation’s impacts, the role of stakeholders in these impacts, the actions that follow, and the role of stakeholders in the success of these actions.
Objective : Make this approach an initiative that goes beyond the project team to reach other concerned stakeholders (primarily internal employees) through the implementation of actions, in a logic of cross-functionality, togetherness, reputation and exemplariness.
Indicator : Level of knowledge and understanding of the results (impacts and actions)

Presentation of the different adaptations:

Steps of the approach 🗓️ : Stakeholder engagement continues continuously throughout the Bilan Carbone® approach and adapts to the different steps:
- At the launch and framing (step 1) : awareness and popularization
- For identifying emission sources and data to collect (step 2) : empowerment of information & data holders
- For the accounting of emissions (step 4) : results presentation interim
- For reflections around the transition plan (step 5) : coconstruction of the actions
- For the finalisation of the approach (step 6) : empowerment, reporting and communication
Targets and stakeholders 👥: The stakeholders surrounding the organisation can be distributed as follows. They will be solicited in distinct phases of the Stakeholder engagement.
- Project team, internal leads
- Management
- Other internal collaborators (employees, salaried staff, volunteers)
- Upstream external stakeholders (suppliers)
- Downstream external stakeholders (clients)
- Other external stakeholders (financial and technical partners, local actors, professional federations, or other partners on topics strategic for the organisation such as education, innovation, development).
Organisational profile 📊 : The different organisational profiles should be taken into account to adapt the messages delivered. They can be distributed by sector & trades, or at least between:
- Profile or sector “lower emitter or decarbonising”
- Profile or sector “very high emitter”
- Profile or sector “at risk”
This classification remains subjective, but it can be based on the framework proposed in the annex. Being part of a lower-emitting sector does not mean that the organisation is actually low-emitting. This classification must be analysed in view of the real activity of the organisation. For the Initial and Standard maturity levels, the messages are rather universal. The adaptation of the message becomes increasingly specific and ambitious as the organisation's maturity increases. A specific focus is necessary from the Advanced level, as presented in the following sections and in annex.

The governance of the Stakeholder engagement step is part of the overall governance of the Bilan Carbone® approach presented above. It is the coordinator who leads the different Stakeholder engagement phases.

Facilitators or presenters can be external or internal depending on the skills sought. To scale up the Stakeholder engagement phases, it is advisable to train a team of internal facilitators. The involvement of certain teams or services will be essential for the proper conduct of the Stakeholder engagement steps, in particular management and communication.

For reminder, here is the summary of requirements and recommendations, for each maturity level. The Stakeholder engagement contents must take into account the maturity level of the organisation. They are explained in detail in the following sub-sections.

Stakeholder engagement:

H: Targets of the Stakeholder engagement
- H1: The Stakeholder engagement targets at least the organisation's internal stakeholders, i.e. the project team, employees and management.
I: Messages of the Stakeholder engagement
- I1: The following Stakeholder engagement phases: awareness-raising and popularization, empowerment, restitution and communication, occur at least once in the approach.
J: Stakeholder engagement steps
- J1: At least one Stakeholder engagement action takes place during the launch and framing steps of the approach, the interim restitution and the synthesis of the approach.

The information and deliverables obtained at the end of step 3, and associated with the above requirements, are to be reported at the end of the approach:

A summary of the different Stakeholder engagement phases that have been implemented: their targets, the messages delivered, their format, the associated step of the approach.

For example: one line per Stakeholder engagement action. Additional information is useful (format, date, participation, etc.):

Stakeholder engagement Action

Targets

Steps

Stakeholder engagement Phase

Action No. 1.

Date - Format - Participation

Project teamManagementOther internal employeesUpstream external stakeholders

In summary of the approach

Reporting and communication

Action No. 2 Date - Format - Participation

Management

For the construction of the transition plan

Awareness and popularization

[…]

Other internal employees

At the start of data collection

Empowerment

Do you have a comprehension question? Consult the FAQ. The method is living and therefore likely to evolve (clarifications, additions): find the change log here.

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