Approaches to stakeholder engagement, including frequency of engagement by type and by stakeholder group

Approaches to stakeholder engagement, including frequency of engagement by type and by stakeholder group

• Reference Number: 4.16
• Related Status: Reported
• GRI Status: Core GRI Indicator

The EIB actively seeks contacts with organisations that can help the public and, more specifically, citizens affected by its operations find their way to information about the Bank.
The Bank is open to constructive dialogue and cooperation with reputable international CSOs based on mutual trust and benefits.
The principles based on which the Bank engages with stakeholders are formulated in its Transparency Policy (Part A, Article 6).

Stakeholder engagement
The EIB is strongly committed to the principles of stakeholder engagement. It considers that interested and well-informed members of the public, especially those affected by a project in the host country, can add value to the project’s environmental and social assessment processes.

Relations with civil society
The Bank’s engagement with civil society, including NGOs and other interest groups, leads to valuable input into its policy developments and contributes to increasing the Bank’s awareness of local project-related issues. As part of its on-going dialogue with civil society, the EIB organises  regular civil society dialogue meetings, roundtables and workshops, amongst other things. Additional meetings with local CSOs are also organised on the occasion of the Bank’s regional conferences. 
 
Public consultations
The Bank conducts public consultations on selected corporate and important multi-sector policies, which are typically of interest to all EIB stakeholders. The main objectives of a consultation are to generate valuable stakeholder contributions and to reinforce transparency and accountability. Often considered as best practice, these consultations are generally combined with public meetings with a view to facilitating a direct, face-to-face, dialogue with interested stakeholders.

At project level, public consultation and participation is a requirement not only of the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) Directive but also of a number of other EU environmental measures. In its environmental and social assessment of projects outside the EU, the Bank aims to promote public consultation and participation, in accordance with EU standards, through appropriate discussions with the promoter and other parties. Consultation is defined as a tool for managing culturally appropriate two-way communications between project sponsors and the public. Its goal is to improve decision-making and build understanding, by actively involving individuals, groups and organisations with a stake in the project. This involvement increases a project’s long-term viability and enhances the benefits a project brings to locally affected people and other stakeholders.
 
As both a bank and an institution of the EU, the EIB dedicates substantial resources to building partnerships aimed at improving the responsiveness of its operations.