Defining Issues of High Concern for our Stakeholders
Resolute Forest Products reports its sustainability performance based on shared priority issues.
Shared priorities are topics that reflect the company’s significant environmental, social and economic impacts, and that substantively influence the assessments and decisions of our stakeholders. We monitor our shared priorities on a continuous basis through regular interaction with stakeholders and periodic analysis, including stakeholder questionnaires we undertake every two to three years. Our most recent comprehensive assessment was completed in 2022.
Resolute applies the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) definition and determination methodology for defining its shared priorities. These topics are regularly updated and presented in our Shared Priorities Matrix, which illustrates our stakeholders' concerns relative to potential impacts on the company. The shared priority issues identified through this process form the basis of the information Resolute reports publicly, giving stakeholders access to data on what matters to them most.
Our identification of shared priority issues is intended to improve the understanding of our stakeholders’ objectives and information needs. Stakeholder concerns and related expectations are identified and prioritized through a series of confidential, one-on-one, in-depth surveys with individuals representing various stakeholder groups.
The surveys are conducted by a third party to facilitate unbiased discussions, and only aggregate, unattributed responses are shared with Resolute. Results are then combined with a detailed industry scan of sustainability issues and benchmarking of North American and international peer company reports. Using this research as a foundation, our sustainability committee adds its own insight to determine the business impacts of these concerns and, ultimately, compiles a list of shared priorities.
Our most recent assessment targeted ten stakeholder groups: employees and retirees; customers; suppliers; First Nations and other Indigenous groups; investors and the financial community; industry associations and other business partners, such as labor unions; representatives of our operating communities, such as NGOs and local community organizations; government and elected officials; sustainability committee members; and finally, company executive and board members.
A representative geographic participation was ensured (responses were received from Canada, the United States and several international locations), as was stakeholder involvement from various Resolute operations, including head office, pulp, paper and tissue mills, woodlands operations and wood products facilities. The process evolved over four steps, as identified and described by the GRI Universal Standards:
Step 1: Determination and prioritization of the stakeholders to be involved in the process
Step 2: Identification and prioritization of all material topics as defined through the GRI Standards and sector benchmarking
Step 3: Shared priorities survey, through a qualitative online questionnaire
Step 4: Analysis of the outcomes and results, and verification of the final shared priorities list and matrix
Key Topics and Issues Raised
Since our last assessment, our shared priorities have remained roughly the same. In 2022, water management was the only new high-priority issue to emerge, reflecting a general sustainability trend toward water stewardship. We have reported on this topic for several years, including the Water Management section on our website and our 2022 CDP Water Security report.
Issues that ranked higher than in the past are also addressed in our monitoring and reporting, including: local procurement practices; responsible procurement using environmental criteria; and local hiring and employment. All of these topics are covered in our GRI content index as well as our Public Commitments, and in 2022, we developed a Human Rights Policy that builds on existing policies related to ethics standards and reporting. Our commitment to human rights begins with the expectation that all employees adhere strictly to our Code of Business Conduct.
Sector benchmarking with other peer companies continues to demonstrate Resolute’s shared priorities are consistent with other leading companies in the North American forest products industry. We commissioned an independent benchmarking report in 2021 that confirmed our progression, ranking the company in a strong position relative to industry leaders. We plan to verify our position regularly in order to ensure we remain a sustainability leader in our sectors of activity, and incorporate new sustainability practices in our annual reporting.
Key Topics and Issues Raised by Stakeholder Group
Stakeholder Group: Customers
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Weekly email updates
- Regular one-on-one meetings
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
- Annual and online performance reporting
- Customer surveys and questionnaires
|
- Biodiversity
- Climate change
- Employee health, safety and wellness
- Environmental compliance
- Ethics, integrity and anti-corruption
- Fiber sourcing practices
- Forest management
- Human rights
- Responsible procurement: environmental and social criteria
- Rights of Indigenous peoples
- Risk management
- Transparency and communication
|
|
Stakeholder Group: Employees and Retirees
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Regular one-on-one meetings
- Quarterly employee meetings
- Annual performance reviews
- Training and orientation programs
- Negotiations and ongoing dialogue with unions
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
|
- Compensation and benefits
- Ethics, integrity and anti-corruption
- Forest management
- Economic performance
- Environmental compliance
|
|
Stakeholder Group: Investors and Financial Community
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Regular one-on-one meetings
- Investor conferences
- Quarterly telephone and web conferences
- Annual shareholder meeting
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
|
- Economic performance
- Ethics, integrity and anti-corruption
- Energy consumption
- Forest management
- Transparency and communication
- Data security and privacy
|
|
Stakeholder Group: Members of Operating Communities
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Corporate and local outreach (mill-level communication activities)
- Information-sharing groups that meet annually or bi-annually
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
- Public input process for forest management planning (every five years minimum)
- Executive visits
|
- Economic performance
- Forest management
- Local communities and engagement
- Human rights
- Water management
- Environmental compliance
- Biodiversity
|
|
Stakeholder Group: First Nations and Other Indigenous Groups
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Corporate and local outreach (ie. mill-level communication activities)
- Information-sharing groups that meet annually or biannually
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
- Consultation and engagement through third-party audited forest management standards
- Opportunities to provide input on forest management plans (every five years minimum)
- Mutually beneficial partnership agreements and collaborations
|
- Economic performance
- Local hiring and employment
- Responsible procurement: environmental and social criteria
- Forest management
- Waste management
- Environmental compliance
- Biodiversity
- Employee health, safety and wellness
- Diversity, equity, inclusion and non-discrimination
- Human rights
- Local communities and engagement
- Rights of Indigenous peoples
- Transparency and communication
|
|
Stakeholder Group: Government and Elected Officials
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Regular one-on-one meetings
- Lobby and political involvement
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
- Public input process for forest management plans and land tenure (every five years at least)
- Membership in various industry associations
|
- Biodiversity
- Fiber sourcing practices
- Employee health, safety and wellness
- Local communities and engagement
- Economic performance
- Water management
- Ethics, integrity and anti-corruption
- Infrastructure investments and indirect economic value
- Forest management
- Local procurement practices
|
|
Stakeholder Group: Industry Associations and Other Business Partners
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Regular one-on-one meetings
- Partnerships (e.g. WWF, Two Sides)
- Industry/NGO coalitions
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
- Forest management and product certification auditing process
|
- Biodiversity
- Economic performance
- Employee health, safety and wellness
- Forest management
- Local communities and engagement
- Local hiring and employment
- Local procurement practices
|
|
Stakeholder Group: Suppliers
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Regular one-on-one meetings
- Trade association meetings, conferences and conventions
- Supplier evaluation and auditing
- Supplier guidelines communication
- Joint ventures
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
|
- Local procurement practices
- Ethics, integrity and anti-corruption
- Energy consumption
- Forest management
- Water management
- Human rights
- Risk management
- Waste management
- Environmental compliance
- Fiber sourcing practices
|
|
Stakeholder Group: Sustainability Committee Members
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Regular one-on-one meetings
- Quarterly committee meetings
- Quarterly employee meetings
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
- Annual review of targets
- Training and orientation programs
|
- Forest management
- Employee health, safety and wellness
- Economic performance
- Ethics, integrity and anti-corruption
- Climate change
- Environmental compliance
- Fiber sourcing practices
- Responsible procurement: environmental and social criteria
- Environmental compliance
|
|
Stakeholder Group: Company Executives and Board of Directors
| Engagement Type and Frequency |
Key Concerns Raised |
Resolute's Approach: Policies and Initiatives |
- Regular one-on-one meetings
- Quarterly employee meetings
- Stakeholder engagement survey (every 2 to 3 years)
- Training and orientation programs
|
- Forest management
- Employee health, safety and wellness
- Economic performance
- Ethics, integrity and anti-corruption
- Diversity, equity, inclusion and non-discrimination
- Human rights
- Climate change
- Fiber sourcing practices
|
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