Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement: Practical guidance for companies in the agriculture and food manufacturing sector

In complex agrifood supply chains, serious human rights and environmental risks can be missed if companies do not prioritize engaging directly with the people affected. Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement enables companies to engage with core stakeholders, including affected rightsholders, to understand their perspectives and experiences, and act accordingly.

This is becoming increasingly important, as legislation such as CSDDD comes into force and companies increasingly try to adhere to the UNGPs and OECD guidelines.

Together with Oxfam, AIM-Progress, amfori, ETI, Ethical Trade Sweden, and FNET, we have developed practical guidance on Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement for companies in the agriculture and food manufacturing sector.

Developed through a partnership of organisations and grounded in dialogue with companies, trade unions, civil society and rightsholders, the guidance supports companies to:

• Engage workers and communities in safe, respectful and ongoing ways
• Strengthen human rights and environmental due diligence
• Turn engagement into better decisions and real-world outcomes

With practical tools, indicators and sector examples, the guidance is designed to meet companies where they are, whether just beginning to develop stakeholder engagement processes or looking to strengthen existing approaches.

It’s been designed for everyone with a role in engaging stakeholders, including sustainability teams, procurement managers, HR leads, and local country teams,  and across all tiers of agrifood supply chains.