Putting social license to operate on the map: A social, actuarial and political risk and licensing model (SAP Model)

Abstract

The social license to operate, as promoted within the fields of corporate social responsibility and impact assessment studies, has entered the business mainstream, especially in the mining and extractives sector. While it is invoked increasingly as a means of claiming legitimacy, the concept remains conflicted, implying that the social license terrain may be more complex and broader than conventional conceptualizations suggest. In this paper the authors draw attention to a suite of licenses and related risks that shape the issues surrounding mining and extractives companies' quest for a social license to operate. These are captured in a holistic license and risk model, the social, actuarial and political risk and licensing model (SAP Model). Drawing on research from corporate social responsibility and impact assessment studies fields, the paper introduces the SAP Model and suggests how it enables improved exploration of the meaning, intention and probable implications of the various licenses and associated risks facing the mining and extractives sector. In so doing, it contributes a more contextualized understanding of social license to operate, especially for the corporate social responsibility and impact assessment fields of research.

Is this a Real Choice? Critical Exploration of the Social License to Operate in the Oil Extraction Context of the Ecuadorian Amazon

“…SLO has been associated with increased alignment with community expectations [8], heightened community engagement [13] on environmental and social issues [3], and more sustainable social developments within local communities [14]. It has strong links to corporate social responsibility (CSR), which refers to policies and practices (such as programs of social services) adopted by a company as a reflection of its commitment to local communities [15,16].…”

Licença Social Para Operar E Impactos Ambientais: Uma Revisão De Literatura

“…Tendo em vista os conflitos entre os grupos de interesses envolvendo a LSO, alguns pesquisadores propõem modelos para lidar com as articulações para obtenção da LSO. Entre os fatores que contribuem para a obtenção e/ou manutenção da LSO podem ser destacados: diálogo entre os grupos de interesse (Bahr & Nakagawa, 2017;Mercer-Mapstone et al, 2018), gerenciamento de tensões e riscos (Bice, Brueckner, & Pforr, 2017), atenção aos fatores que influenciam resistência social (Luke, 2017), modelos de LSO para segmentos industriais em expansão no mundo baseados em estruturas já existentes (Smith, Richards, & Colwell, 2017), a confiança como papel central nas negociações (Debrah, Mtegha, & Cawood, 2018;Moffat & Zhang, 2014), utilização de modelos de governança (Prno & Slocombe, 2012) e observação ao conjunto desses fatores que interagem entre si (Zhang et al, 2015).…”

Inclusive Leadership

“…A social license to operate is highly prized by business entities and is often the motivation behind being seen to exercise corporate social responsibility. Bice et al (2017) describe a public interest model that brings a focus to putting a social license to operate on the map of sustainability leadership. It shows that the challenge of inclusive leadership involves grappling with the intersecting power and contextual factors which pose complex risk and licensing issues for stakeholders.…”

“…It shows that the challenge of inclusive leadership involves grappling with the intersecting power and contextual factors which pose complex risk and licensing issues for stakeholders. Bice et al (2017) suggest the idea of a social license to operate is not sufficiently understood and that it may be more complicated than is evident from a cursory glance. They identify the need to critically understand the intersections of social, legal, and political power dynamics and the related vested interests of stakeholders.…”