Indicates whether the organization implements a strategy to manage its interactions with local communities affected by its operations.
Organizations should footnote the relevant details about their community engagement strategy, and how it is being implemented. See usage guidance for further information.
Community engagement strategies involve intentional approaches to align the development priorities of local communities with the goals of the organization.
Examples of strategy elements, to footnote, may include: providing deliberate resources (e.g., employee time and skills, in-kind giving, leadership) to community organizations or individuals, providing education and skills training, creating opportunities for employee volunteering and fundraising, contracting to local suppliers, lobbying to strengthen local issues, facilitating discussions with local leaders, integrating the company's community engagement activities into organizational functions, creating institutional policies and incentives for community engagement, and measuring the social impact of the organization's community engagement activities.
The strategy may also dictate methods (e.g., memorandum of understanding) for considering, informing, and consulting with existing community groups before implementing organizational activities that affect the community. For example, organizations may assess and take into account existing formal, informal, and historic land-use rights of local communities or indigenous peoples prior to affecting the land.
Organizations can refer to the following sources for further guidance on community engagement strategies:
Metrics identified as "cross-category" are those that are relevant to any IRIS+ Impact Category or Impact Theme (i.e., these metrics are not specific to any particular industry/category or theme).
January 2020 - IRIS v5.1 Released
No change.
May 2019 - IRIS v5.0 Released
No change.
March 2016 - IRIS v4.0 Released (current version)
New metric. Community Engagement Strategy (OI2319) developed via IRIS Taxonomy Group.
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To use IRIS metrics—and the resulting data—to understand impact performance, IRIS metrics should be used and analyzed in generally accepted sets and according to well-defined objectives. IRIS+ gives you access to generally accepted Core Metrics Sets aligned to common Impact Themes and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).