Stakeholder Engagement
Our Strategy
Improving our stakeholder engagement
We are proud of the significant improvements we have made in how we engage with our stakeholders during a period of substantial change and growth for our business and our industry, and we recognise that there is always more that we can do both now and as we look to the future. Our strategy and accompanying action plan will help to ensure we can continue to adapt to the rapidly changing external environment in which we operate, and ultimately improve the services we offer our stakeholders.
At the forefront
Being at the forefront of stakeholder engagement means actively listening to and collaborating with these diverse groups to understand their needs and concerns.
This helps us build trust, make better decisions, and create value for everyone involved. For our stakeholders, this means open communication, a chance to be part of our decision-making, and working together to achieve mutually agreed outcomes.
Delivering net zero
At SSEN Transmission, our mission is to achieve energy security and deliver a network for net zero, unlocking the north of Scotland’s potential as a renewable energy powerhouse.
The network growth needed to achieve net zero and deliver clean power depends on us engaging and working effectively with all our stakeholders. Effective stakeholder engagement must be embedded into everything that we do.
For stakeholder engagement
Our vision
Our stakeholder engagement vision is to be at the forefront of best practice for engagement
For stakeholder engagement
Our mission
Our stakeholder mission is to actively listen and respond to stakeholder insights and work collaboratively to influence and achieve real benefits for our stakeholders and society.
Continuously improving our engagement
We commit to continuously improving our engagement and services by learning and evolving our approach:
- Actively seek feedback from our stakeholders and act on it in a timely manner
- Continuously gather insights on stakeholder needs, share knowledge and learn from others
- Strengthen our internal culture of stakeholder engagement through clear processes, systems, and behaviours
Building trust and understanding
We strive to build trust and understanding, by encouraging participation and giving access to relevant information:
- Foster an inclusive environment where diverse voices are heard, respected, and considered
- Ensure our communication is accessible, providing information at the right level and at the right time
Realising societal benefits and advocating for change
We will realise societal benefits and advocate for our industry by championing change:
- Actively participate in industry change as a committed advocate for stakeholders
- Develop partnerships that deliver mutual benefits for all parties
- Co-design socio-economic benefit delivery models with stakeholders
Our principles explain the way we engage with our stakeholders
1. Inclusive: We value and encourage the perspectives of all stakeholders. We want to ensure all voices, especially those hard to reach, are heard and considered.
2. Open and transparent: We communicate clearly, honestly and proactively, providing timely and accurate information about our plans, progress and challenges. We are open to feedback at any time and use it constructively to improve our engagement efforts.
3. Tailored and intentional: We proactively engage with stakeholders in the development of our business plans and strategies and throughout our project lifecycles. We personalise and localise our engagement activities to the specific needs and interests of different stakeholder groups, maximising relevance and impact. Our approach to engagement ensures stakeholder input is considered with the aim of achieving mutually acceptable and agreed outcomes wherever possible.
4. Agile and adaptive: We regularly evaluate the effectiveness of our stakeholder engagement, seeking feedback and using data to identify areas for improvement. We embrace a culture of learning and adaptation, continuously refining our approach to ensure our engagement remains relevant and impactful.
5. Collaborative and compassionate: We actively seek opportunities to collaborate with our stakeholders, leveraging their expertise and insights. We increase understanding through personalised interactions to strive to achieve mutually acceptable and agreed outcomes.
Our engagement by stakeholder group
Excellent engagement looks different depending on the stakeholder. We engage intentionally and effectively by tailoring our approach to our stakeholders’ needs, interests, preferences and when beneficial, to their local area. In the next section we look more closely at how we engage with our stakeholder groups. For each group, we highlight our specific engagement commitments, how we intend to carry them out, and detail what successful engagement looks like.
Our stakeholders
So that we can tailor and target our engagement in a way that is most relevant to our stakeholders, we have grouped those who often have or have indicated similar interests and needs together. This approach aligns with current best practice and ensures that our engagement is relevant, accessible and timely.
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Communities
Through open and constructive dialogue with communities, we are able to consider and adapt our plans and strategies to minimise adverse impacts and maximise benefits. By understanding what matters most to local communities, we can deliver tangible benefits that improve socio-economic goals for generations to come.
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Industry, suppliers and partners
Engaging will help industry, our suppliers and partners to overcome issues and challenges, bring value for money for bill payers, create and cultivate economies of scale and ensure efficiency across the electricity supply chain.
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Government bodies and Statutory Consultees
We engage with government and regulatory stakeholders to help inform the policy, legislative and regulatory environment within which we operate. We engage with statutory consultees to ensure that we, where possible, effectively mitigate the impacts of our projects. -
Customers
Collaboration with our customers enables us to work collaboratively, proactively anticipate and address potential challenges and minimise inefficiencies, helping us to improve grid reliability and our understanding of future demand. -
Traditional and Digital Media
A strong relationship with traditional and digital media outlets can help to build trust and strengthen our understanding of the sentiment held towards the work that we do, allowing us to tailor our engagement and communications based on the topics that matter most.
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Internal stakeholders
Engaging with our employees and embedded contractors is essential to building a thriving organisation where everyone feels valued, aligned, and motivated to fulfil our mission of Delivering a Network for Net Zero.
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Investors
We must be well financed with the ability to reward shareholders for their investment and secure debt at competitive rates in order to fund and grow our business. Timely investor communication ensures strategic decisions are properly informed to those with a financial stake in our long-term success.
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Landowners and Occupiers
Landowners and occupiers are essential stakeholders in the development and operation of our projects and infrastructure. We engage with them to identify who controls the land, understand and address any potential impacts this may have on their properties and businesses, and to secure the necessary consents for construction and operation.
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Special interest groups
To learn about the current and future challenges and trends they face or areas of potential impact to help inform our strategies, plans and projects. Engaging with special interest groups also enables us to develop good practice based on the diverse interests they represent.
Thoughts from our Director of Customers and Stakeholders
We’ve really taken the time to get to know our stakeholders better and we continue to actively seek honest feedback on our engagement and the experiences of those who interact with our business. This feedback has helped us to better understand what our stakeholders want from us and how our engagement can support those needs. As these needs evolve, our strategy needs to evolve too. Our refreshed strategy and new action plan keep stakeholders firmly at the heart of our business and our decision-making. As our team continues to grow, we are as committed as ever to creating a culture of engagement at SSEN Transmission and this refreshed strategy gives us the platform to do that.
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Consultation Feedback Report
Draft Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
To develop our new strategy, we worked closely with our stakeholders, using their feedback as well as the help of an external organisation to ensure that our new strategy meets the evolving needs of our stakeholders both today and into the future.
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Stakeholder Engagement Strategy Summary
We've created a summary version of our Stakeholder Engagement strategy describing the commitments we've set as we continue to work in close collaboration with our stakeholders. -
Get in touch
It is only through successfully involving people in our business activities, that we will be able to develop an understanding of our stakeholders and their needs. And it is only with this understanding, that we will be able to conduct our business in way that enables us to meet them.