Engaging with stakeholders and affected communities

A continuous and structured dialogue helps us understand what stakeholders consider important, clarify expectations, assess potential impacts and risks, and identify opportunities, to find suitable solutions, gain acceptance and make the best decisions possible. This supports informed decisionmaking and strengthens the legitimacy of our actions.

As we have a broad impact, we have many different stakeholders. They include customers, NGOs, local communities (those who are directly or indirectly affected by our operations), business partners, suppliers, authorities, the owner (the Swedish State), employees and society at large.

We engage with our stakeholders in a variety of ways—during projects in line with the Vattenfall Project Management Model, through round table discussions, bilateral dialogues, surveys, and other structured formats. In all interactions with Sámi communities, Vattenfall follows the principles outlined in the Approach towards Indigenous Peoples in Sweden and strives to respect Sámi customs, traditions, and legal systems.

Affected communities

Vattenfall supports affected communities not only by mitigating impacts, but also by creating jobs, developing skills and enabling local supply chain opportunities during project construction and operation. Projects may also deliver (physical) benefits, such as new roads or other public infrastructure. In consultation with affected communities, Vattenfall also invests in community development initiatives, tailored to local needs. Additionally, shared ownership schemes allow individuals to invest in projects, for example, Vesterhav wind farm in Denmark.