A printer’s commitment to sustainability comes part and parcel with a commitment to continuous improvement and to transparency about sustainable practices. Demonstrating that transparency is central to building a company’s credibility One way to do so is to engage in frequent dialog with stakeholders. But, just who are your stakeholders? Simply put, stakeholders are those people inside and outside your company who have made a point of making your business their business. Your list of internal stakeholders will likely include customers, potential customers, employees, upper management, supervisors, owners, shareholders, and vendors. These stakeholders have a personal and immediate interest in your operations and in your progress toward greater sustainability. Internal stakeholders tend to be interested in many, if not all, aspects of your operation. That’s not surprising, because their livelihoods are dependent upon your actions. Your list of external stakeholders may be quite far-reaching, and may include: prospective customers; past customers; federal, state and local regulatory agencies; civic groups; trade associations; competitors; environmental non-profit organizations; and neighboring businesses and families. External stakeholders tend to have a less-personal and more-sporadic interest in your operations and progress. But that doesn’t make their interest in you less intense or less important. Each external stakeholder is likely to focus its attention on only those aspects of your operation that are encompassed within its own mission or values. For example, a forest conservation group likely will be interested in your paper sources, consumption and recycling, but not in the afterburner you use to eliminate VOCs. Members of the neighborhood, who have to look at and listen to your afterburner, are likely to be more concerned about that piece of equipment than about the origin of your printing paper. Stakeholder values vary, but one thing is clear. The values held by external stakeholders are of the utmost importance (at least to them), and they will, if pressed, take action to see that their values are respected. Think it isn’t so? Then think back on how the “protect endangered forest” values of the activist-group, ForestEthics, clashed with  the “catalog merchandising” values of Victoria’s Secret, and how the ensuing consumer-activism campaign led to a major shift in that company’s sourcing of catalog paper. Your differences with stakeholders will likely not be made so public. But by engaging in dialog with your external stakeholders, you have a channel through which to exchange ideas and diffuse tensions before they come to a head. At the very least, you will build credibility in their eyes as a straight-shooter and a well-intentioned member of industry – and you never know when you might need their endorsement. Next time: The three keys to connecting with stakeholders.