1. INTRODUCTION
The current business landscape is becoming increasingly complex as sustainability issues such as climate change and human rights become more critical within WCT Holdings Berhad’s (“WCT” or “the Group”) engineering & construction, property development, retail malls, hotels and business aviation subsidiaries. As such, the needs and expectations of employees, suppliers, local communities, regulators, non-governmental organisations, investors, industry associations and other stakeholders for our improved sustainability performance have also increased. Being a major corporate citizen operating in Malaysia and overseas with a global supply chain and thus diverse stakeholders, we recognise our responsibility to incorporate their needs and expectations in our governance, strategy and operations as we strive to ensure adverse impacts from our activities are minimised and managed. This Stakeholder Engagement Policy (“Policy”) has been developed to demonstrate our commitment to undertake this task.
2. PURPOSE
This Policy provides information on actions which WCT and its subsidiary companies are committed to take with regards to stakeholder engagement and shall be applied along with its Code of Conduct & Ethics and other policies within its governance framework. It acts as a statement of commitment and framework to ensure WCT Group:
i. provides a transparent and open environment where stakeholders have access to be heard and opportunity to express their needs and expectations relevant to WCT Group’s operations;
ii. identifies its environmental, economic and social impacts, material matters, risks and opportunities related to its stakeholders’ needs and expectations;
iii. complies with regulatory requirements, best practices related to stakeholder engagement as well as WCT Group’s own strategies and policies;
iv. builds trust-based and transparent relationships with its stakeholders which can allow for creation of partnerships, promote understanding, exchange of knowledge, innovation and ultimately mutually improve sustainability performance;
v. provides timely and appropriate response to stakeholders’ needs and expectations and continually improve its stakeholder engagement performance.
3. SCOPE
This Policy applies throughout WCT Group for any engagement with stakeholders including during planning, preparation, implementation and delivery of its products and services. External service providers working on WCT Group’s behalf are also expected to uphold this Policy where applicable.
WCT Group views stakeholders as individuals, groups of people or organisations who affect and/or could be affected by WCT Group’s activities, products or services and associated performance.
4. RESPONSIBILITY
Executive Directors have overall responsibility for this Policy. The Heads of Department/Division of the respective business divisions have the responsibility to support and oversee the implementation of this Policy.
All employees throughout WCT Group are responsible for understanding and executing their responsibilities related to this Policy.
5. COMMITMENT STATEMENT
5.1. Principles
WCT Group shall uphold the following principles throughout its stakeholder engagement activities:
5.1.1. Inclusivity
We are responsible for ensuring our stakeholders have access to accurate and timely information to make informed decisions, as well as the opportunity to express their needs and expectations. We are also responsible for actively engaging them to provide a response and inform them of our governance policies and decision-making process.
5.1.2. Materiality
We are responsible for determining and prioritising material matters that will influence and impact the assessments, decisions, actions and performance of our stakeholders and WCT Group in the short, medium and/or long term.
5.1.3. Responsiveness
We are responsible for providing timely, balanced and transparent response to our stakeholders needs and expectations through our decisions, actions, performance and communication.
5.2. Implementation
WCT Group shall ensure a stakeholder engagement process is integrated into its governance, strategy and operations, and implemented effectively throughout the organisation. The implementation of the stakeholder engagement process shall be monitored and measured through regular internal reviews of communications with stakeholders and feedback received, to ensure WCT Group’s stakeholder engagement objectives are achieved.
The stakeholder engagement process shall facilitate:
i. open and transparent stakeholder participation;
ii. understanding of WCT Group’s diverse stakeholders and their relevant needs and expectations;
iii. setting of scope and engagement approaches as well as roles and responsibilities for the parties involved;
iv. understanding potential conflicts of interest and other engagement risks;
v. determination of resources required for effective implementation of the process; and
vi. development of action plans to address engagement outcomes and its implementation.
5.3. Stakeholder Engagement Process
The process shall be guided by, but not limited to, the following steps:
5.3.1. Before the engagement – Planning and Preparation
i. Establishing purpose, scope and ownership of engagement;
ii. Identification and prioritisation of relevant stakeholders based on their dependence or influence on WCT Group;
iii. Determination of engagement objectives;
iv. Determination of engagement levels (informative, consultative, participatory or collaborative) and approaches (reports, newsletters, surveys, forums, focus groups, partnerships or programmes);
v. Preparation of necessary resources and competencies; and
vi. Identification and preparation for engagement risks.
5.3.2. During the engagement - Implementation
i. Execution of engagement plan;
ii. Documentation of engagement outputs; and
iii. Development of response action plan.
5.3.3. After the engagement - Review
i. Monitoring and evaluating engagement;
ii. Communication and reporting of engagement outputs and response action plan;
iii. Execution of response action plan and follow up; and
iv. Continual improvement of the engagement process.
6. REVIEW OF THE POLICY
This Policy shall be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure effectiveness.
7. REFERENCES
The development of this policy is guided by Accountability's AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard 2015.
