Stakeholder engagement
HARMAN is committed to delivering the best possible outcome for all of our stakeholders. This requires continual efforts to be an engaging collaborator, partner, visionary, employer and innovator. To help us stay connected with our internal and external stakeholders, we developed a robust engagement model in 2011 as part of the CERES Roadmap process. Over time that model has grown organically as we’ve continued to innovate, grow our partnerships and become more involved in our communities.
Approach
As a connected technologies company, we understand the importance and value of frequent, continual and open communication between stakeholders. In light of the continued evolution of our company, HARMAN conducted a Materiality Assessment in 2016 engaging both internal and external stakeholders to help us improve upon on our sustainability strategy. In every interaction with our stakeholders, we encourage open dialogue and sharing of thoughts and ideas. Below is an outline of our key stakeholders and some of the ways we work to foster these relationships.
| Stakeholder Group | Engagement |
|---|---|
| Suppliers | Across all industries, HARMAN suppliers are a critical component of our production process and an integral partner in our success. Suppliers were included in our 2016 Materiality Assessment and we also engage with suppliers on a regular basis through operations. |
| Employees | HARMAN’s employees are our lifeblood — from engineers dreaming big to our line workers turning those dreams into reality, they are our most cherished resource. Our site leaders at facilities around the world conduct Town Hall discussions to help our employees understand how their individual actions are supporting our combined success. We conduct quarterly calls with globally-situated employees and distribute monthly emails from our Chairman. In FY2016, we also introduced an employee Mobile Application, increasing accessibility and communication with our globally situated line workers. |
| Customers | HARMAN’s customers span a number of industries, from automotive to healthcare and from corporate enterprises to big box stores — all of whom are invested in helping usher in positive change. We included customers in our 2016 Materiality outreach and we regularly welcome feedback through our procurement and sales teams. |
| Consumers | However our product reaches the consumer, they are, ultimately, to whom we are accountable. We engage with our consumers through social media and customer service on a regular basis, and more formally through our Flagship stores around the world and Trade Shows. |
| Partners | Identifying like-minded organizations that can complement the HARMAN portfolio of brands has helped us bring our innovations into a whole new range of territories. HARMAN dedicates multi-functional teams to some of our most significant partnerships including Under Armour® and the NBA, along with our largest customers such as BMW, Best Buy and Cisco. |
| Investors | As a publicly traded company, HARMAN strives for complete transparency and clear communication in all facets of our business. On a quarterly basis, timed with earnings, HARMAN conducts calls with its investors to share ideas and progress. We share financial updates through our SEC filings and Annual 10-K report, as well as engage investors through press releases, events and presentations. Every other year, we also host a global Investor Day to lay out our plans for the coming years in detail. |
| Policymakers | In this increasingly global economy, HARMAN is actively engaged with a number of member organizations and forums shaping public policy and business relations at the regional, national and international level. |
| NGOs | HARMAN is dedicated to utilizing our assets and expertise to benefit our communities and those less fortunate directly and through partner NGOs. HARMAN works with NGOs specifically on Music and STEM education, our cause areas of focus, in the communities in which we live and work. |
| Media | A critical resource for all, HARMAN engages with the media on a continual basis through press events, trade shows, Op-Ed pieces or through individual interviews with our executives to keep an open dialogue about new product innovations, responsible business practices and the future of technology. |
Stakeholder engagement on specific issues
The dawn of the autonomous vehicle has generated plenty of buzz. And it has, perhaps, raised even more questions. How can we ensure the safety of drivers, passengers and pedestrians? How can we safeguard the security of our data? What will autonomous vehicles and the sharing economy mean for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and consumers?
At HARMAN, we want to remain at the forefront of these discussions, helping facilitate healthy dialogue and continually offering innovative, effective solutions.
- We are a member of the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), which is focused on automakers and key suppliers sharing information related to cybersecurity threats and coordinated response/solutions
- We have been actively engaged with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on several fronts, both formally and informally, to provide briefings about our technology in the areas of safety and cybersecurity and offer inputs that inform their automotive cybersecurity guidelines
- In January 2016 a HARMAN automotive technical expert spoke at the NHTSA Vehicle Cybersecurity Roundtable in Washington
- We have been participating in a set of formal evaluations by NHTSA of cybersecurity offerings in live vehicle environments
- We have, on multiple occasions, briefed the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has oversight into automotive areas relevant to our Connected Car business
- Our CEO has also been active on Capitol Hill meeting with various House and governmental representatives to proactively brief them about our businesses in the areas of safety and cybersecurity
From time to time we receive inquiries regarding the safety and security of our infotainment systems and software. We take the security of our customers — and our customers’ customers — very seriously. HARMAN is and has always been at the forefront of automotive cyber security advancements:
- In January 2014 at CES we introduced our hypervisor-based software architecture for protecting mission- and safety-critical infotainment operations from other applications and features (also known as virtualization)
- We invested further in cyber security with our acquisition of Redbend for best-in-class virtualization and over-the-air (OTA) technologies, so that system updates and patches can be delivered wirelessly – and seamlessly -- to cars already on the road
- Our acquisition of Symphony Teleca gives us the software development talent to scale
- Our multi-layer security framework — we call it 5+1 security — addresses a variety of cyber threats, and is already in effect
Business sustainability continues to be a concern among our key stakeholders, from customers to investors to employees. HARMAN’s goal is to provide complete and forthcoming transparency in this area. As such, we are active participants in a number of reporting mechanisms, including:
- HARMAN has been participating in the CDP since 2013. We respond to both CDP Climate as well as CDP Supply Chain – Climate
- HARMAN responds to more than a dozen customer sustainability surveys, primarily through the NQC supply chain database system
- HARMAN submits an annual progress report to the Business Roundtable and United Nations Global Compact
- HARMAN is an active participant in the Consumer Technology Association Environmental Policy Committee
- On a biennial basis, HARMAN discloses a full Sustainability Report in accordance with GRI G4 guidelines
- HARMAN monitors feedback from sustainability rankings and ratings organizations and engages in dialogue with analytics groups such as Sustainalytics.