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Stakeholder engagement

We engage with a range of stakeholders to help us understand external perspectives and identify emerging issues. Here we report our engagement with stakeholders on environmental issues. See engagement with stakeholders for details of how we engage with stakeholders on other corporate responsibility issues.

In the past, we have held ad hoc stakeholder meetings to obtain feedback on our EHS performance and plans. In September 2003 we held a major workshop of external stakeholders to help us identify emerging challenges. We plan to establish a more permanent stakeholder panel in 2005 to provide ongoing advice to GSK on EHS issues.

The 2003 stakeholder workshop identified three key external challenges - pharmaceuticals in the environment, the use of chemicals and the future use of energy. In 2004, we worked with the environment Council to interview around 20 stakeholder organisations (including NGOs, policy makers, regulators, customers, suppliers and trade associations) to help us develop position statements on these issues. See plan for excellence for more about the position statements which will be published in 2005.

We also partner with a number of environmental organisations in specific areas. For example, in 2004 we commissioned a study by Forum for the Future into the role of a pharmaceutical company in a sustainable society, and this is being used to help us develop a road map for sustainable development. Another partnership is with the environmental organisation Earthwatch Institute (Europe). GSK is a member of Earthwatch's Corporate Environmental Responsibility Group and also funds Earthwatch to develop its field research and conservation projects in the UK and send schoolteachers on these projects as part of its educational programme. For the first time in 2004, we ran a competition to select a GSK employee to participate in a two-week Earthwatch expedition overseas.

Many of our sites also engage with stakeholders locally, for example, through open days, newsletters and community projects.

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