atw - International Journal for Nuclear Power | 04.2019

atw Vol. 64 (2019) | Issue 4 ı April
Successful Co-Existance of Nuclear Power
Plants with Their External Stakeholders
Milan Simončič and Gordana Žurga
The article deals with the expectations expressed by the external stakeholders of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)
in Slovenia and conditions necessary for their successful coexistence with the nuclear facility. In the survey, several
types of external stakeholders of the NPP participated. Besides them, 45 NPPs joined the research, basically in regard to
their awareness to act in a socially responsible way. The research proved that respecting the interests of stakeholders is
a prerequisite for the acceptability of NPPs in society, and that this strengthens quality of life of all involved parties.
For analysis of essential relationships, the method of structural equation modelling (SEM) was used, in combination
with some relevant statistical tests. NPPs have expressed awareness of their responsibility for possible effects on wider
society, and for respecting interests of their external stakeholders as well. An optimal model of involvement of external
stakeholders that was developed in the research, includes strong partnership relation. Important components of the
model are effective communication, vision, objectives and orientation, strategy, socially responsible actions, the
introduction of continuous improvements and tools for achieving the sustainable excellence of the NPPs as a neverending
process. The research conducted contributes to the scientific fields of organizational theory and management
with special emphasis on social responsibility of NPPs.
1 Introduction
Nuclear energy remains a reality in
many countries even after the events
in Fukushima [Afgan, 2013; Campbell,
2013; Goodfellow, Dewick, Wortley, &
Azapagic, 2015; Horvath & Rachlew,
2016; Kato, Takahara, Nishikawa, &
Homma, 2013; Shadrina, 2012;
Truelove & Greenberg, 2013]. Program
Harmony [2018], managed by the
World Nuclear Association, supports
climate change mitigation efforts to
limit warming below 2 ˚C. Nuclear
energy is proven, available and can be
expanded quickly – making it an
important part of the solution to
problems of air pollution and climate
change. This requires a large increase
of all low-carbon energy sources, of
which nuclear is an important part.
Achieving this means nuclear energy
generation must triple globally by
2050.
Coexistence of the nuclear power
plants (NPPs) and various stakeholders
in society is a current and
future challenge. In a socially responsible
environment, a key commitment
for NPPs and their external stakeholders
is ensuring a partnership and
mutual respect. Due to physical placement
of NPPs in the environment,
their external stakeholders expect
certain benefits and respect of their
interests. They also expect responsibility
of NPPs for possible consequences,
which may arise in society
and affect their quality of life. The
challenges for the NPPs are how to
establish the necessary confidence of
their external stakeholders, how to
present specific activities and promote
benefits of nuclear energy. Challenges
for the external stakeholders of NPPs
are how to express and realize own
interests, understand the activities of
NPPs, how to cope with demanding
technology, understand it, and how to
communicate with the NPPs. Trufanov
[2013] says that the number of stakeholders
involved in the development
of the electric power industry has increased
and their priorities and the
ability to influence decision making
processes have changed.
Matuleviciene and Stravinskiene
[2015] found two basic factors of
stakeholder trust: corporate reputation
and organizational trustworthiness.
Other factors as emotions,
propensity to trust, experience with
the organization and sociocultural
factors, same as inborn factors or
acquired during growth, factors
related with the environment where
the person lives or other factors are of
secondary importance. Avetisyan and
Ferrary [2012] analyzed the process
of introducing social responsibility in
France and the USA and described
the role of stakeholders in this field.
They prove the assumption that the
development of social responsibility in
different environments depends on
the nature of the participating local
and global stakeholders and their
interactions. A steady form of social
responsibility in the USA is more
market- oriented (influenced by companies
and investors), while in France
it reflects a significant influence of the
government that promotes corporate
social responsibility and the implementation
of good practices. They
also argue that convergence of stakeholders’
interests strengthens social
responsibility.
The involvement of different groups
of external stakeholders that critically
evaluate activities of NPPs, enables the
NPPs adoption of practical, administrative,
technical and socially responsible
practices. The social responsibility of
the NPPs is an integral part of the
safety culture, which is shown by the
actors involved at all levels. Owners
and operators of the NPPs have to meet
the expected obligations towards
society and the environment. ISO
26000 [2010] argue, that identification
and engagement of stakeholders
are fundamental to social responsibility.
An organization should determine
who has an interest in its decisions and
activities, so that it can understand its
impacts and how to address them.
Banerjee and Bonnefous [2011] claim
that the external stakeholders play a
significant role in shaping the future of
the nuclear power industry. They
identified three different stakeholder
management strategies of NPPs:
reinforcement strategies for supportive
stakeholders, containment strategies
for obstructive stakeholders and
stabilization strategies for passive
stakeholders. The groups differ in their
power to influence policies of NPP. He,
Mol, Zhang and Lu [2013] studied the
attitude of stakeholders to nuclear
energy in China. The case study was
conducted three months after the
Fukushima event. Their results show
that development and decision- making
on NPPs are dominated by ‘iron nuclear
triangle’ of national governmental
agencies, nuclear industries, and
research organizations. The Fukushima
crisis has shown that a lack of transparency,
public participation and
public scrutiny can have severe consequences
for the NPPs.
The optimal strategy for integrating
external stake holders into the
focus sets an effective communication
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ENERGY POLICY, ECONOMY AND LAW
Energy Policy, Economy and Law
Successful Co-Existance of Nuclear Power Plants with Their External Stakeholders ı Milan Simončič and Gordana Žurga