Engaging Our Stakeholders

A stakeholder can be defined as an individual, group or institution that has a vested interest in how our company operates and manages economic, environmental and/or social issues and risks. At NextEra Energy, our stakeholders include our employees, our customers, government/agency officials, our investors and shareholders, our suppliers, our consultants, environmental groups, members of the media, our business partners and nonprofit organizations that help the communities we serve.

We engage our stakeholders through various methods including:

Materiality Analysis as Engagement Tool

In order to further focus our sustainability efforts on the right topics, NextEra Energy completed a materiality assessment in early 2018, using an approach that aligns with the GRI Standards.

NextEra Energy defines "material sustainability issues" as issues that are important to our stakeholders and the success of our business, and where we have a potentially significant impact on the environment, society or the economy.

Building on previous materiality assessments, in this most recent assessment we worked with a third party consultant to conduct web research and peer benchmarking, develop and execute an online survey of internal and external stakeholders, and facilitate a workshop with a cross-functional NextEra Energy team. The research and peer benchmarking was used to identify a list of sustainability issues.

An internal NextEra Energy cross-functional team refined the list to 31 topics which were then used in an online survey.  The survey was sent to a diverse range of nearly 9,000 stakeholders representing customers (residential, municipal, commercial and industrial), government agencies, investors/analysts, community members, non-governmental organizations and employees.  Approximately 30% of the targeted stakeholders responded to the survey.

The results of the web research, benchmarking and online survey were used to seed discussions during an internal workshop with a cross-functional team. The team aligned on 17 material issues, factoring in the importance to stakeholders and significance of economic, environmental, and social impacts. The results were further vetted and refined in subsequent discussions with senior leaders. 

Key Material Topics: