Stakeholder mapping

Module two

Who are the key stakeholders in your business that will help you reach net zero? They’re the people who hold the information you’ll need to measure your carbon footprint, are interested in sustainability and are keen to help, or are in a position to influence change across the business.

Here are some questions to answer to figure out who your key stakeholders are:

  • Who holds your electricity bill?
  • Who holds your gas bill?
  • Who hold details about your employees’ annual leave?
  • Who leads on your organisation’s purpose?
  • Are there any roles in your business indirectly linked to sustainability?
  • Do you know anyone who’s interested in sustainability?

We’ve listed some roles here to help spark some ideas. They might not cover the exact roles in your business, but you can add or change titles to make them relevant. Listing stakeholders out like this will get you ready to make approaches for areas they can help in:

Now use this diagram to put your stakeholders in the right place. The ones that overlap are probably the people that will be key to helping you get to net zero.

Stakeholders that…

Next steps

Now you’ve identified your key stakeholders, what do you do with that information? Here are some suggestions:

  • Start engaging them. Have initial conversations to let them know your business is on a net zero journey. Help them understand what that means and how they’re a part of it.
  • Share Heart of the City’s climate action page or climate action toolkit with them so they can see what they’re a part of and what resources are available.
  • If they’re a specific stakeholder, let them know how they can help and what they’ll need to do – such as provide energy information.
  • Start a net zero champion team in your business. Workload can be spread out between the champions and they’ll be able to provide an insight into other areas of the business that you know less about. It can also help build momentum of your net zero journey, making it easier for you to ask for help in the future!

This was last updated in September 2021 by Heart of the City. We’ve created these resources for individual SMEs to use. None of our content is to be adapted, reused or repurposed for commercial use.

Climate for SMEs: 4 Steps to Action is funded by the City of London Corporation in support of its Climate Action Strategy targets for a net zero and resilient Square Mile.

DOWNLOAD THIS RESOURCE