Stakeholder Engagement
Our stakeholders are important to us. That's why we're committed to understanding what they care about.
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 employees, customers, government/agency officials, investors and shareholders, suppliers, 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:
- Outreach meetings
- Web, FPL Mobile App and email
- Speaking engagements
- Executive contact program
- Social media
- Customer care center
- Open houses
- Employee and customer surveys
- Customer account satisfaction tracking
- Materiality analysis
- Shareholder meetings
- Analyst meetings
- Government relations
- Direct mail
Materiality Analysis as Engagement Tool
In order to further focus our sustainability efforts on the right topics, NextEra Energy completed a materiality assessment in 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:
Conducting a materiality assessment gives us a lens into the views of a representative sample of our stakeholders and helps us ensure that we include in our sustainability reporting those issues that are important to those stakeholders. For purposes of the Global Reporting Initiative, our management approaches for each material topic are outlined within respective sections of our sustainability website.
Association Memberships
NextEra Energy and its subsidiaries are members of or partners with various associations, such as industry associations and/or national and international advocacy organizations. The below list includes the majority of those relationships. In addition, we are members of chambers at the local level in communities where our customers reside.