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Corporate social responsibility is seen as having five themes: 1) human rights, 2) worker rights, 3) environmental impact, 4) community involvement, 5) supplier relations and monitoring. For an individual company, this means the integration of social (including human rights), environmental and economic concerns into that company’s values and culture. These values are then incorporated into the way in which the company goes about its business and are reflected in that company’s policies and strategies, decision-making, and operations. Community development activities undertaken by extractive industry companies generally fall under a company’s CSR efforts. Increasingly, CSR is evolving beyond philanthropy to an essential business function directly related to companies maintaining their social license to operate. In the future more and more companies, as well as government and civil society, will be assessing the social return on investments that companies make both locally and globally. This may involve, for example, local enterprise initiatives linked to the supply chain; pre-employment training; local human and institutional capacity building; or designing infrastructure – like roads or water supplies – to ensure benefits are created for local people.

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Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM)

The Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) was established by the University of Queensland in 2001 in response to growing interest in and debate about the role of the mining and minerals industry in contemporary society.  CSRM’s focus is the socio-economic and political challenges that confront companies, communities and governments when change is brought about by resource extraction.

Centre for Excellence in CSR
Over the coming year, this site will become the hub of knowledge on CSR-related practices and approaches as they apply to the extractive sector. The focus is to help Canadian companies doing business around the world, provide tools and information for all stakeholders, and to raise the bar for excellent CSR-related practices in the extractive industry.
Esquel Group
The Esquel Group (EG), a private non-profit organization established in 1984. It is a member of the Grupo Esquel network, with entities in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras and Uruguay. It promotes policies and programs for social equity and sustainable development with special emphasis in democratic citizenship and strengthening of civil society.
BASESwiki
BASESwiki aims to help Business And Society Explore Solutions to the grievances and disputes that impact their relationships.

This online community and resource is built by and for all of those who are its users. It provides a place to share information and learning about non-judicial grievance mechanisms around the world.
Center for Global Development

CGD is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank working to reduce global poverty and inequality through rigorous research and active engagement to encourage policy change.

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Oil industry's increasing focus on CSR
4 Mar 2010
Given half a chance, oil executives like to publicise their social and environmental credentials. BP calls itself Beyond Petroleum; ExxonMobil advertises the environmentally friendly aspects of natural gas. Some people may react with cynicism, yet companies have made progress. But where has progress been made? And where have they fallen short? Are some companies better than others?

Indian Government Issues Voluntary Guidelines for Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility
13 Jan 2010
At the conclusion of the first India Corporate Week, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs issues guidelines intended to encourage best practices in corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.

CSR: Good for Business Even in a Recession
24 Apr 2009
CSR, as this article argues, provides the elements of a solution to the current financial situation especially since its ideas were largely ignored by many of the big financial players to date.

Sustainability: Extracting the best from Canadian Miners?
21 Apr 2009

On 26 March, the Canadian government unveiled a series of measures to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the extractive sector.


The Amsterdam Declaration on Transparency and Reporting
24 Mar 2009

Global leaders from business, labor and civil society today declared their belief that the lack of transparency in the existing system for corporate reporting has failed its stakeholders. In issuing The Amsterdam Declaration on Transparency and Reporting, Board Members of the Global Reporting Initiative called on governments to introduce policies requiring companies to address publicly environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

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Going Global: Chinese Oil and Mining Companies and the Governance of Resource Wealth
Jill Shankleman
The focus of the work is on the impact of China’s oil and mining companies’ recent overseas expansion on the governance of resource wealth.

Gaining Ground: Integrating Environmental, Social and Governance factors into investment processes in emerging markets
IFC engaged Mercer to conduct this study to identify leading investment managers, persuing sustainable investment in emergining markets, their AUM and their capacity for integrating ESG into investment processes.

Gender and Sustainability Reporting
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and IFC, the private-sector development arm of the World Bank, teamed up to help companies expand their sustainability reporting to include an emphasis on gender issues and to help companies capture and report on the value they provide through gender initiatives—including work with supply chains, consumers and investors.

Supporting Local Economic Growth in Ghana: Newmont

Newmont, along with the IFC, applied the WBCSD Measuring Impact Framework to the mine as a way to understand the extent of the project's benefits and establish a rigorous approach to measuring, monitoring and evaluating progress in achieving the project goals.

 


Corporate social responsibility in a global economy
This white paper stresses the importance of companies’ conduct abroad. CSR efforts are important because companies can strengthen their long-term competitiveness and position by having a responsible relationship to employees, consumers, owners and other interested parties.

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CSR Knowledge Sharing at Mining INDABA Cape Town
1 February 2010
Cape Town, South Africa
Social & Environmental Risk Management Conference
March 22 - 23, 2010
London, England
The new Social & Environmental Risk Management conference is designed specifically for the mining, oil & gas, steel and other heavy industries. This conference brings together the most relevant case studies that address these very matters, and have them delivered to you by practitioners who had first hand experience.
BSR Conference 2009
October 20 - 23, 2009
San Francisco, California, USA
Now more than ever, innovative sustainability strategies are needed to deliver business value today, and position companies to successfully meet the greater challenges ahead. The BSR Conference is an essential opportunity to learn how to leverage your resources, implement changes, and succeed in a world where business as usual is no longer viable.
Follow-up Workshop on Participatory Planning & Monitoring in Community Development Related to Extractive Projects in Ghana
May 26 - 27, 2009
Accra, Ghana
Follow-up workshop to reconvene multi-stakeholder teams including community development practitioners from extractive companies, local government, NGOs, and local civil society to share their experiences on participatory planning and monitoring.
Sustainable Development Indicators in the Minerals Industry 2009
July 6 - 8, 2009
Queensland, Australia
The 2009 SDIMI Conference offers researchers and industry practitioners th opportunity to engage in dialogue about the future of the minerals industry and its contribution to society.

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