Social Innovation and Chinese Overseas Hydropower Dams: The Nexus of National Social Policy and Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

The nexus between hydropower dams, social policy and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a currently understudied topic. This paper aims to fill parts of this gap by discussing these issues in relation to the world's largest builder of hydropower dams, Chinese state-owned enterprise Sinohydro. This paper draws on the analysis of firm strategy documents and CSR documents and gains additional insights from key informant interviews. The research finds that in 2011 Sinohydro developed its first comprehensive policy framework for social and environmental safeguards that was in line with international standards set by the World Bank/International Finance Corporation. These policies were however later replaced by weaker, vaguer policy. The paper suggests there is a need for Sinohydro and other dam-builders to re-engage with social innovation to mitigate some of the negative social and environmental implications of hydropower dams.

Review of social responsibility factors for sustainable development in public–private partnerships

“…In PPP arrangements, serving the community can be achieved in diverse ways. Apart from job creation, social intervention programs and provision of high‐quality services, local residents and the community should feel part of the project development (Nordensvard, Urban, & Mang, ; Osei‐Kyei & Chan, ). Project stakeholders should ensure continuous openness, coordination and transparency in their activities to provide the community with a sense of belongingness for the project.…”

The Limits of Social Protection: The Case of Hydropower Dams and Indigenous Peoples' Land

“…There is a perception that if the policy making and implementation were fair, participating parties would tend to accept a disliked outcome (Deutsch ). Boström created a model based around social sustainability/environmental justice (2012) that has been adapted by Urban et al () and Nordensvard et al () to analyse the social implications of hydropower dam projects in Ghana and Cambodia and the social policy measures of Sinohydro.…”

“…Hensengerth () suggests that the actual implementation of environmental and social guidelines for overseas dams depends on the local and national circumstances and governance. Recent studies analysed the social dimension of Chinese hydropower dams including analysis of social corporate responsibility and social sustainability of dam projects (Nordensvard et al ; Urban et al ; Hensengerth ). All these studies show important flaws in particular projects and the lack of overall environmental and social standards.…”

Social innovation in question: The theoretical and practical implications of a contested concept

“…A larger firm may generate economies of scale and higher profits, even though no new products, processes, or services have been introduced. In the same way, (Foster et al, 2016;Gershuny, 1982;Goldsmith et al, 2010;Graddy-Reed and Feldman, 2015;Nordensvard et al, 2015) Source: Authors' research based on literature review.…”