Materiality with Barratt Developments

IMS have been working with Barratt Developments since 2016, conducting a comprehensive materiality process for the business every three years. For the 2019 exercise the main objectives were to understand how sustainability priorities had changed since the last study and also to gather specific intelligence on how frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals should be addressed.

Using IMS’ StakeholderTALK tool we first conducted a wide ranging stakeholder survey to gain views from Barratts employee base and its external audience. We then planned and undertook a series of key stakeholder interviews to gather more detail on the practicalities of how sustainability issues should be addressed. Investors, supply chain and customer-representative organisations were all involved. Materiality calculations followed, using the quantitative data from the survey and a verification step with the Board. The resulting materiality report classifies sustainability issues into 4 prioritisation tiers and also shows the progression of issues – those that have risen up the agenda as critical to stakeholder confidence and those that are receding and need less direct attention.

The materiality results plus direct quotes and guidance from stakeholders provide Barratt with a clear picture of how sustainability needs to be woven into their business strategy and will inform the production of their 2019 sustainability framework.