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Mine ownership and community relations: Comparing hydrosocial dynamics of public and private companies in Chile

Resource Key: 4P87QESC

Document Type: journalArticle

Creator:

Date: 21 February 2023

Debate over the merits of public versus private control of extractive industries has reemerged in recent electoral cycles of Latin American countries. Outcomes have major political and economic implications, given the global shift to clean energy that will increase demand for minerals such as copper and lithium. Yet less attention has been paid to whether and how socio-environmental relations with host communities may differ between state owned and private mining companies. We examine this question through analysis of the decision by the Na tional Copper Corporation of Chile (Codelco) to abandon its Andina-244 mine expansion proposal following local protest over harm to glaciers, in contrast to actions by two private companies that faced local opposition over water impacts. Results indicate that stakeholders perceive Codelco to perform worse than private companies on localized socio-environmental issues, owing to spending restrictions, the country’s dependence on it for gov ernment revenue, and greater pressure placed on international firms. However, its decision to abandon the Andina-244 proposal owed more to the interaction of the geographical, technical, economic, political, down stream, and power relations factors of hydrosocial displacements theory—as well as a new factor, institutional constraints—than to its ownership specifically. These results indicate the need for policy attention to local socio environmental concerns near public and private mines alike; the importance of policies that counter the creation of sacrifice zones, especially for state-owned operations; and the importance of including peripheral voices in political settlements over natural resources, such as in the current process of rewriting Chile’s constitution.

Common Threads: Lessons from Compliance Reviews – Strengthening the Fabric of Development Effectiveness

Resource Key: 9ILSI9JH

Document Type: report

Creator:

Place: Mandaluyong City, Philippines

Institution: Asian Development Bank

Date: December 2022

This Summary Lessons Learned Report gathers common threads from eight compliance reviews conducted by the Compliance Review Panel (CRP). It aims to draw out cohesive learnings and recommendations for general application in development projects. The learnings and recommendations are intended to provide opportunities to improve project design and strengthen the compliance review function of ADB.

Critical reflections on the Juukan Gorge parliamentary inquiry and prospects for industry change

Resource Key: 9BFUN6YR

Document Type: journalArticle

Creator:

Date: 2023

In May 2020, when Rio Tinto destroyed ancient rockshelters in Western Australia to expand an iron ore mine, public outcry triggered a parliamentary inquiry. The value and effect of public sector inquiries have been debated for over a century. While the Juukan Gorge inquiry overlooked some important issues, it succeeded in illuminating critical flaws in company, regulatory and administrative systems that trade on injustice. These issues have not been altogether neglected by past state and federal governments, but previous inquiries failed to drive meaningful reform. We conclude that while systemic change seems improbable, the evolving political milieu in Australia may offer prospects for industry change.

GRI Sector Standards Project for Mining – Exposure draft

Resource Key: 6ZQSD227

Document Type: report

Creator:

Place: Amsterdam

Institution: Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

Date: 2023

Sustainability reporting using the GRI Standards enables an organization to publicly disclose its most significant impacts and how it manages these impacts. The purpose of the GRI Sector Standards is to increase transparency by focusing attention on the sustainability issues that matter most within sectors. They will identify and describe a sector’s most significant impacts from a sustainable development perspective and reflect the information needs and expectations of stakeholders. The Mining Sector Standard is the fourth standard developed under the Sector Program and the first one following the pilot projects. More information about the Sector Program, including the full list of prioritized sectors prioritized for a Standard, can be found on the program webpage. Public comment period This exposure draft for mining is published for public comment by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), the independent standard-setting body of GRI. Any interested party can submit comments on this draft by 30 April 2023 via this online questionnaire. As required by the GSSB Due Process Protocol, only comments submitted in writing and in English will be considered. Comments will be published on the GRI website and considered a matter of public record. Instructions to submit comments are outlined on the first page of the online questionnaire.

Managing Human Rights Risks in IDB Projects: Requirements of the IDB’s Environmental and Social Policy Framework

Resource Key: RX3WWG2H

Document Type: report

Creator:

Place: Washington D.C.

Institution: Inter-American Development Bank

Date: May 2022

This Technical Note on Human Rights (TN) aims to provide support to IDB Borrowers in identifying and addressing human rights risks and impacts on IDB-financed projects under the new ESPF. The information contained in this note may also be relevant to a wider audience, including IDB staff and external stakeholders.
The Technical Note outlines how human rights are addressed by the ESPF’s ten Environmental and Social Performance Standards (ESPS) and various other IDB policies and
provides information on key human rights issues in the LAC region. With a particular focus on ESPF requirements, the Technical Note focuses on how Borrowers can integrate a human
rights lens into the design and implementation of IDB-financed projects. As such, it also provides key guidance on stakeholder engagement and effective grievance management,
as these are key parts of the human rights-based approach under the ESPF. Finally, the Technical Note looks at the importance for collaborative approaches to working on human
rights issues, particularly when addressing complex and contextual challenges.

Legislating for impact: Analysis of the proposed EU corporate sustainability due diligence directive

Resource Key: WI2897WU

Document Type: report

Creator:

Place: Copenhagen

Institution: The Danish Institute for Human Rights

Date: March 2022

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (the proposal) requires large companies to identify and address their negative human rights and environmental impacts in line with key international frameworks including the UN Guiding Principles
on Business and Human Rights1 (UNGPs) and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises2 (OECD Guidelines) and associated due diligence guidance. It is welcome that the proposal has drawn heavily from these frameworks in its design. The proposal contains a number of ambitious aspects, as it covers impacts across the full value chain, includes provisions on enforcement and civil liability and has the potential to have a significant positive impact for people and planet. However, the restricted number of companies in scope and provisions limiting the extent of the due diligence obligation including by suggesting reliance on contractual means to exercise this due diligence and other deviations from the international frameworks mentioned above risk undermining its effectiveness as well as the legal certainty it sets out to create.

Respecting the human rights of communities: A legal risk primer for commercial wind and solar project deployment

Resource Key: MHAX9HBF

Document Type: report

Creator:

Place: New York

Institution: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

Date: March 2022

This primer’s focus is legal risk, but there is a strong nexus between business and legal considerations. General counsels and corporate legal teams often serve as not just technical experts, but also strategic advisors on corporate governance, non-judicial complaints, and emerging trends and risks beyond the realm of strict legal compliance. Strategic advice regarding implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) is one such area, particularly given the increasing awareness of, and reference to, the UNGPs among policy-makers, legislators, judicial and quasi judicial bodies, and advocates. As a result, this primer should be read together with the Business Guide, which contains information and practical recommendations on how wind and solar companies can implement the UNGPs to improve community-related human rights performance, thus helping to mitigate legal risk.

Business and Human Rights: Navigating a changing legal landscape

Resource Key: 7XRB2DYI

Document Type: report

Creator:

Place: London

Institution: Clifford Chance and The Global Business Initiative on Human Rights

Date: January 2022

Legislation governing business
impacts on human rights is
increasing, with mandatory human
rights reporting, due diligence
obligations and other regulatory
and legislative devices continuing
to emerge across the globe. These
requirements form part of broader
efforts to drive responsible
business conduct, sustainable
corporate governance, and to
include business in efforts to tackle
climate change through the energy
transition. In this briefing, the
Global Business Initiative on
Human Rights and Clifford Chance
consider these developments,
focusing on what businesses need
to know to navigate the changing
legal landscape.

The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An Updated Status Review

Resource Key: CEKIQ7HX

Document Type: bookSection

Creator:

Place: Rio de Janeiro

Date: 2022

The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s Protect, Respect and Remedy (‘Three Pillar’) Framework on Business and Human Rights and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (GPs) represent a significant marker in the contemporary evolution of norms on the responsibility and accountability of corporate actors for their social, environmental and human rights impacts. Building on earlier work, this chapter provides an updated exposition and critical assessment of developments since 2011 in law, policy and practice that have sought, in line with the GPs, to
advance corporate respect human rights. First the chapter briefly addresses the origins of the GPs and
their standing in relation to wider principles and standards of international human rights law (Section 1). It then explains the notion of corporate human rights due diligence as the principal mechanism through which businesses are envisaged, by the GPs, to realise respect for human rights. Here it relates measures being taken by governments and others to legalise corporate human rights due diligence requirements, such as due diligence and supply chain laws recently adopted in France, Germany, Norway and prospectively by the European Union (Section 2). In Section 3, the chapter addresses in turn three elements of the corporate human rights due diligence process: human rights impact assessment (HRIA, Section 3.1); companies’ integration of the findings of human rights risk
identification and the exercise of leverage (Section 3.2); and corporate human rights reporting (Section 3.3), where we address links to ‘ESG’ investment practices. In conclusion, given the continuing scale and severity of business-related human rights abuses, but also uncertainties about design and impacts of reviewed regulatory measures, the chapter calls for intensified scholarly inquiry
and debate in corporate responsibility research.

Respecting the human rights of communities: A business guide for commercial wind and solar project deployment

Resource Key: HRJMYUBR

Document Type: report

Creator:

Place: New York

Institution: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

Date: March 2022

Wind and solar energy are essential for the world to reach net zero global emissions in accordance with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change targets. The potential for wind and solar energy to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around the world is also without question. Rights-respecting wind and solar projects can also contribute to equitable rural development and bolster community livelihoods. The global installed capacity of renewable energy has more than doubled in the last ten years, with wind and solar energy leading this growth. Yet amidst this rapid expansion there have been increasing allegations and lawsuits against wind and solar companies for their involvement in adverse human rights impacts (see Box 1), particularly with respect to the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and human rights defenders. A key driver has been a lack of robust human rights programs that address community-related human rights impacts