An Interview with Berry Jordan
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Community benefit has the potential to be so much more than just a cash reward. When done well, it’s about building a reciprocal relationship between the wind farm and the community that benefits both parties and helps to deliver positive long-term change within that community.
How can organisations build relationships with their local community?
Community engagement is crucial. An open, honest and ongoing dialogue that reaches as many people as possible is required - talking to and listening to residents, businesses, charities, social enterprises, farmers, schools, local industry and anyone else living and working in the area. Finding out from them what they think will enhance their community, what changes they want to see and
what their priorities are is key. Many communities will already have plans in place, so it’s about helping to review and prioritise these ideas. This is where the real value of community benefit starts to come into play.
How can organisations build relationships with their local community?
Community engagement is crucial. An open, honest and ongoing dialogue that reaches as many people as possible is required - talking to and listening to residents, businesses, charities, social enterprises, farmers, schools, local industry and anyone else living and working in the area. Finding out from them what they think will enhance their community, what changes they want to see and
what their priorities are is key. Many communities will already have plans in place, so it’s about helping to review and prioritise these ideas. This is where the real value of community benefit starts to come into play.
What do companies get from improving how they deliver community benefit?
The current mindset for lots of companies is that community benefit is a mitigation exercise. A cash payment made in exchange for building a wind farm on the community’s doorstep. This is why there is often a disconnect between a wind farm and local residents. The downside to this is that residents might not realise where the funding has come from.
I find it more beneficial to think of community benefit as less about the cash payment and more about companies investing in becoming a community partner. Companies need to realise they will be operating in these areas for a long time, often decades, so there is huge value to be had from building a good relationship with local residents and businesses. By putting their best foot forward
and being more proactive about community engagement from the beginning, companies are more likely to be met with acceptance and in some cases even welcomed. It’s only by working in partnership that companies can really demonstrate social value.
How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted your community benefit work at Vattenfall?
We felt the effects of the pandemic instantly and a lot of the community projects that we were funding had to be put on hold. Thankfully, because community benefit funding is very flexible, our community partners were able to adapt quickly to identify areas where vital funds were urgently needed and to plug the gaps. This included supporting services that started up during the pandemic,
such as meal delivery services for those who were shielding.
How will social-distancing measures impact community benefit in the long-term?
Community engagement and dialogue is still essential to our work, but we are having to adapt how we do that to ensure it is safe for everyone. Previously we would be talking to people at town halls, community centres and summer fayres and that’s just not possible at the moment. Very early on we started to look at how we could reach our audience most effectively and we found that a mix of tech and paper-based channels work best. It’s actually enabled us to reach people we wouldn’t usually see at events, such as younger people or those less mobile. We’re always asking the community for feedback to make sure we are communicating in a way that works for them and reaches as many people as possible.
What challenges and opportunities are there for the future of community benefit?
The conversation is widening, but I think the industry still has a long way to go to realising the full potential of community benefit. We have a responsibility to move away from this cash payment, tick-box exercise and look at what creates the most value for communities. What we’re doing at Vattenfall and through our work with Samtaler in Scotland is still seen as a new and unusual approach, but we’re proud to be exploring the parameters of what community benefit can achieve.
Community benefit is unique because it provides long-term, sustainable local funding which can be used to address long-term problems that communities might have struggled with for years, such as annual flooding or other climate adaptation issues. That’s what’s really special about it; I think if organisations and communities can work together to unlock that potential, that’s when we’re going to see community benefit making a real difference and having a lasting impact. That’s when organisations will see the value of investing in something that can deliver measurable social and environmental change.
Vattenfall is one of Europe's largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat. They are determined to enable fossil fuel free living within one generation. www.vattenfall.co.uk
The current mindset for lots of companies is that community benefit is a mitigation exercise. A cash payment made in exchange for building a wind farm on the community’s doorstep. This is why there is often a disconnect between a wind farm and local residents. The downside to this is that residents might not realise where the funding has come from.
I find it more beneficial to think of community benefit as less about the cash payment and more about companies investing in becoming a community partner. Companies need to realise they will be operating in these areas for a long time, often decades, so there is huge value to be had from building a good relationship with local residents and businesses. By putting their best foot forward
and being more proactive about community engagement from the beginning, companies are more likely to be met with acceptance and in some cases even welcomed. It’s only by working in partnership that companies can really demonstrate social value.
How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted your community benefit work at Vattenfall?
We felt the effects of the pandemic instantly and a lot of the community projects that we were funding had to be put on hold. Thankfully, because community benefit funding is very flexible, our community partners were able to adapt quickly to identify areas where vital funds were urgently needed and to plug the gaps. This included supporting services that started up during the pandemic,
such as meal delivery services for those who were shielding.
How will social-distancing measures impact community benefit in the long-term?
Community engagement and dialogue is still essential to our work, but we are having to adapt how we do that to ensure it is safe for everyone. Previously we would be talking to people at town halls, community centres and summer fayres and that’s just not possible at the moment. Very early on we started to look at how we could reach our audience most effectively and we found that a mix of tech and paper-based channels work best. It’s actually enabled us to reach people we wouldn’t usually see at events, such as younger people or those less mobile. We’re always asking the community for feedback to make sure we are communicating in a way that works for them and reaches as many people as possible.
What challenges and opportunities are there for the future of community benefit?
The conversation is widening, but I think the industry still has a long way to go to realising the full potential of community benefit. We have a responsibility to move away from this cash payment, tick-box exercise and look at what creates the most value for communities. What we’re doing at Vattenfall and through our work with Samtaler in Scotland is still seen as a new and unusual approach, but we’re proud to be exploring the parameters of what community benefit can achieve.
Community benefit is unique because it provides long-term, sustainable local funding which can be used to address long-term problems that communities might have struggled with for years, such as annual flooding or other climate adaptation issues. That’s what’s really special about it; I think if organisations and communities can work together to unlock that potential, that’s when we’re going to see community benefit making a real difference and having a lasting impact. That’s when organisations will see the value of investing in something that can deliver measurable social and environmental change.
Vattenfall is one of Europe's largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat. They are determined to enable fossil fuel free living within one generation. www.vattenfall.co.uk
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