The
Devonshire Initiative is a forum for leading international development
NGOs and mining companies to come together in response to the emerging
social agenda surrounding mining and community development issues.
The
Devonshire Initiative is the sole collaborative problem solving forum of
its kind in Canada that is aimed at improving on-the-ground community
development outcomes.
with the support of,
Canadian Business for Social Responsibility
Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum
Canadian International Development Agency
Canadian Trade Commissioner Service
Centre of Excellence in CSR
CommDev
CSR Counsellor for the Extractives Sector
DFAIT Investment Cooperation Program
EEM Sustainable Management
Equator Principles
Extractive Industries Transparency Directive
Foregin Affairs and International Trade Canada
Global Reporting Initiative
Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development
International Development Research Centre
International Finance Corporation
Natural Resources Canada
The Partnering Initiative
rePlan
Stanford Social Innovation Review
U.S. Agency for International Development
Voluntary Principles on Security & Human Rights
World Bank Group
The
objective of the Devonshire Initiative (DI) is improved social and
community development outcomes wherever Canadian mining companies
operate overseas.
The DI
believes that collaboration is the preferred avenue by which to reach
this objective. The DI works to develop a constructive space in which
stakeholders can discuss complex problems facing mining and development,
identify common opportunities, and develop innovative on-the-ground
collaboration.
The DI
sees industry/NGO collaboration and strong linkages with both Canadian
and local governments as a means to an end. The DI provides four
specific areas of value addition to its members and stakeholders:
Enhancing
in-country capacity to allow communities, regions and countries to more
visibly realize the benefits of Canadian mining investments;
Opening
dialogue that creates a better understanding of, and that deepens
engagement on, social and community development components of CSR work
being done by Canadian mining companies operating in developing
countries;
Enhancing cross-sector Canadian engagement with, and understanding of community development issues; and,
Sharing innovations and best practices within the mining and development community.
Benefits
For international development NGOs:
Evidence that working with the private sector positively impacts our constituent communities on the ground;
Access to best practices, lessons learned, and a community of common interest;
Opportunity to influence the thinking and practice of very significant private sector development actors; and,
Understand risks associated with a multi-stakeholder approach to mining and development and share strategies with other NGOs.
For the mining industry:
A space
for dialogue with relevant actors to raise awareness of best practices
in responsible community investment and development;
Opportunities
for cross-sector partnerships with NGOs in order to improve the
outcomes of community development initiatives. Even with all the
existing guidelines, structures, procedures, and consultants on the
ground, challenges continue to arise that are best managed through the
multistakeholder processes;
Enhancing
the contribution made by the mining sector to broad-based
socio-economic development, both at the macro (national) and micro
(site) levels; and,
Changing
the way industry is viewed; raising awareness of the work it currently
does, and addressing myths with a core group of stakeholders.
For government and multilateral institutions:
Access to leading thinkers and practitioners on CSR and multistakeholder partnering;
Opportunity to sound out needs, priorities, and policy in a constructive, established, and proven environment;
The DI is ready, willing, and able to assist in implementing CSR and public-private partnership strategies; and,
Opportunity to invest in a proven process that would catapult Canada as a leader on CSR and public-private partnerships.
28 Nov 2012 debate on mining and excerpts:
I
will name individual company names, because I think it is important
that we know what has gone on, and part of our role in the House is to
help people to bear witness to what has happened in recent years. When
we launched the report, I said:
“We
cannot stand by and witness these global mining companies brutally
impoverishing and destroying the lives and environments of whole
communities. We need not only to expose this exploitation but also to
demand that a firm system of…regulation”—
both national and international—
“control and accountability is put in place that halts the destructive activities.”
Those
activities are not just destructive in the developing world and of the
long-term interests of those individual companies and their employees; they
are destructive of London’s standing in international markets, because
reputational damage that such companies are doing to London will
undermine the long-term future of our economy.
28 Nov 2012 : Column 113WH
worked
for the local authority and turned from gamekeeper into poacher
straightaway thereafter. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, just as we
require Members of the House not to do business connected to matters
they have dealt with as a Minister, we should encourage companies set up
in this country to ensure, through the shareholders’ action, that such
persons, with whom the companies have dealt, are not then immediately
hired on to their boards?
John McDonnell:
I fully agree, but it needs more than shareholder action. I think it is
the responsibility of the Financial Conduct Authority, under the
auspices of the Bank of England, to introduce specific regulation to
prevent some of these things from taking place. That will give
confidence to those who want to invest in these companies and who want
to look on London as a place where companies operate properly, legally,
with probity and with a commitment to ethical corporate behaviour.
Let me give two last examples. I protested at the Vedanta annual general meeting this year because I was so angry about the company’s behaviour. Vedanta
has been criticised for its behaviour in Armenia and Zambia, but it is
in India where it has come in for the heaviest criticism, for the manner
in which it ignored environmental legislation and literally bulldozed
its way into tribal land in Orissa, in the hope of constructing a huge
bauxite mine on land sacred to the Dongria Kondh people to feed its
illegally constructed alumina refinery.
I
have also been dealing with the company in Goa. I met representatives
of the Save Goa Campaign recently. I congratulate the Indian Government
on setting up the Shah commission, which ruled in September that all the
mines in Goa were operating illegally because they were not abiding by
environmental standards. All the mines were shut overnight, and a court
case is going on this week to see which ones can reopen if they have
abided by basic environmental standards. Vedanta and others have
undermined the agricultural base of the Goan economy, polluted the water
and threatened the tourism industry. I commend the Save Goa Campaign:
local people and the Goan diaspora have exposed what has gone on. I also
commend the Indian Government for taking decisive action. However,
Vedanta, as the main company involved, has made fortunes from exploiting
the Indian subcontinent.
Finally,
there is Xstrata. It is involved with the Cerrejon mine in Colombia; it
is involved in the hugely controversial Tintaya mine in Peru, which has
been a focus of fierce conflict over the years as a result of the
pollution; and it is involved in the Philippines, where its Tampakan
project is strongly opposed by indigenous people. The Argentine federal
appeals court has also upheld criminal charges against Xstrata general
managers in the past.
My
view is straightforward. I have read out that list of examples because
they are shocking. These companies are all listed on the London stock
exchange. We need to take responsibility in this country, and I wish
this had been more decisively dealt with when the Financial Services Act
2012 was before us. If these companies wish to be listed on the London
stock exchange, they must first show complete openness and transparency;
they must ensure that there is financial probity; and, above all else,
they must be prevented from doing London reputational damage. We will
achieve that by making sure that they abide by corporate ethical
standards, and
28 Nov 2012 : Column 114WH
that
means ensuring that the FCA and the Bank of England have a role,
including in delisting companies, if necessary, because of their
behaviour in the developing world.
Phulbari, Monterrico Metals:
What
is interesting is that the company is one of those that have been
promoted by this Government, as it was by the previous Government.
Despite receiving a series of freedom of information requests recently,
the Government have refused to provide information about their
relationship with the company and about the support they have given it
and its operation in Bangladesh. In its response, the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office explains it will not provide the information
“because
we consider that the disclosure of this information would be likely to
prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and Bangladesh”
and because it would
“prejudice the UK Government's internal relations with the Bangladesh Government”.
In
other words, the Government would be ashamed of the support they have
given this company if it came to light, and the Bangladeshi Government
would be furious—understandably so, from the sound of the work that has
been undertaken to promote the devastation of the region.
Monterrico
Metals was originally linked to the Phulbari project through the
company’s previous chairman. Monterrico has also received help from the
British Government. In fact, the former British ambassador to Peru,
Richard Ralph, spent part of his ambassadorial time talking up the
advantages of Monterrico’s Rio Blanco copper project in the Andes. He
tried to reassure local organic farmers, most of whom are vehemently
opposed to the project, which threatens their livelihoods, that the
production of large amounts of toxic waste and the pollution of local
water supplies would be good for them. What an extraordinary coincidence
it is that when the ambassador retired, he became chairman of
Monterrico Metals. Later, he was prosecuted as a result of insider
trading. Again, a huge majority of local people rejected the company’s
proposals for the Rio Blanco mining project, and there were protests,
during which people were killed.
The
London stock exchange has four of the top five mining exploration and
extraction companies by market capitalisation—BHP, Rio Tinto, Xstrata
and Anglo American. There are 119 extractive and mining companies listed
on the London exchanges, of which 12 are UK companies. We want to
ensure that investors can hold boards to account and encourage
responsible business behaviour. We have high standards of corporate
governance, but it is important that we are not complacent. Further
strengthening those standards will help London stock markets, because it
will give major investors more confidence.
British MPs: Scope for more cooperation with Odisha Inc
By Express News Service - BHUBANESWAR
22nd August 2012 11:58 AM
- Photos
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik meeting with British Parliamentary delegation at Secretariat in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday | Shamim / Express pho
A
British parliamentary delegation on Tuesday showed keen interest in
investing in private sector, particularly small-scale enterprises in the
State.
“We
are tremendously impressed with the progress in the UK-funded projects
in Odisha. We have seen fruits of work, done by the Odisha Government,
in areas like health, sanitation and agriculture,” Alan Haselhurst, who
led a nine-member delegation of British parliamentarians, told
mediapersons after a meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.
He
also commended the work for providing protection against malaria and
other diseases. “There is clear justification for increasing British aid
flowing into the State. It has been a moving experience,” Haselhurst
said adding the delegation would present the positive story to the UK
Government after returning.
Besides
discussing the need for greater cooperation with Odisha government, the
British parliamentarians, accompanied by representatives of UK’s
Department for International Development (DFID), visited several project
sites and held discussions with senior officials.
“One
of the things we are trying to do now in addition to work we do with
the Government in health and educational programmes is to provide some
investment in private sector too,” DFID acting Asia Director Sam Sharpe
said during the team’s visit to Milk Mantra, a dairy project located
near Gop in Puri district.
“I think from DFID you can expect some investments in small-scale enterprises and start-up companies,” he added.
“We certainly believe there is scope for cooperation between British companies and enterprises here,” Haselhurst said.
DFID
State official Sailesh Kumar said the UK is increasing its support to
channel funds where private sector agrees to partner DFID’s mission to
sustain innovative investments in the field of agriculture.
The
Chief Minister hoped that the cooperation between the DFID and the
State Government will be strengthened in the coming days. Naveen
referred to his meeting with the Minister of DFID during his visit to
the UK in May in which spread of education among ST girl students in the
State and development of urban infrastructure were discussed.
Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik, Development Commissioner RN Senapati and secretaries of various departments were present.
No comments:
Post a Comment