ANNOUNCEMENTS
Environment, social and governance together form a framework that is being used by corporate today to assess their sustainability targets. One such way to report their progress along these parameters is through Business responsibility and sustainability reporting. This reporting in India is currently mandated for the top 1000 listed companies (by market capitalization) by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Apart from the BRSR, companies now also prefer to voluntarily release their sustainability reports annually to keep the stakeholders informed of the progress made. Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality Assessment forms a crucial part of sustainability reporting.
Stakeholder engagement is an imperative starting point for any company who is reporting its sustainability metrics. It connects and aligns the long-term business plan with its important stakeholders and shows its sensitivity to the needs and values of the stakeholders. This thesis highlights the number of steps involved in the stakeholder engagement process and the importance of engaging stakeholders in the path to achieve sustainability goals. Materiality assessment is another important component of sustainability reporting. A materiality assessment is a test that can yield results to help with a better understanding and prioritization of various sustainability challenges, for example, by incorporating stakeholder opinions on the good or service being produced and given by the organization. This report looks into the process of identifying key materiality topics for the client, defining them, prioritizing them and assessing their impacts on the business functions. This work in particular highlights the importance of carrying out stakeholder engagement and materiality assessment in the mining sector.
Keywords: Sustainability, Stakeholder Engagement, Materiality Assessment, Reporting, Mining Sector.
