Stakeholder engagement and materiality Inclusive stakeholder engagement ensures the success of our Company. Our activities have an impact that goes far beyond economic results, so we need to align our business performance with the expectations of our stakeholders and with society in general if we wish to be successful in the long run. To achieve this, a deep understanding of the most relevant topics for the different Stakeholder dialogue The seven stakeholder groups we identified along with the engagement channels and key topics and concerns raised per stakeholder group: 1. Cus tomers 2. Sup pliers 3. Em ployees 4. In vestors & shareholders 5. Lo cal communities 6. Pu blic & regulatory agencies 7. In novators & partners 1. Customers Strong engagement with our customers enables us to understand their needs and anticipate market trends. Through preference discovery platforms and consumer insight programmes we are able to understand and anticipate consumer preferences and adapt to cultural tastes. 2. Suppliers Our suppliers are genuine partners and we work with them towards mutual value creation: open dialogue secures a pipeline of technological innovation through supplier enabled innovation; and supplier engagement and collaboration ensures our suppliers have high standards in business ethics and respect for people and the environment. Why we engage groups of stakeholders is essential – an understanding that comes only from continued and inclusive engagement with our stakeholders. We also need to recognise external trends and market expectations so we can identify opportunities as well as risks for our business. This increases our transparency and helps build strong relationships. To gather views, we have identified seven key stakeholder groups from more than 200 organisations, customers, suppliers, employees, investors and shareholders, local communities, public and regulatory agencies and innovators and partners. Every year Givaudan – 2021 Integrated Annual Report 32 Strategic value creation St akeholder engagement and materiality