Community Engagement Standards
“73% of project delays the world over were due to ‘above ground’ or non-technical risks including COMMUNITY RESISTANCE”
~ Goldman Sachs
In actuality, companies do not have any choice but to deliver tangible and sustainable benefits to their access, host and impacted communities. Extractive companies especially, face rising expectations to do more than simply mitigate negative impacts, they are expected to be sources of economic opportunity and to be reliable and trustworthy partners and neighbours. Extractive companies are expected to deliver lasting social and economic benefits to the areas where they have their footprints.
The tool for delivering these tangible and sustainable benefits to communities is the Community Engagement Standards (CES). Sections and provisions of the CES may be translated into a Community Development Agreement (CDA). Over the years, companies have engaged communities and sundry stakeholders, unfortunately with less than inspiring results. This CES is aimed at filling some of the identified gaps in earlier ones.
CSR-in-Action developed the first Community Engagement Standards to ensure smooth and effective interactions between Oil and Gas companies and their host communities. CSR-in-Action was engaged to carry out interventions that would lead to a reduction in oil loss from refinery operations and oil theft.
This research was made possible with the support of Facility for Oil Sector Transformation (FOSTER II) in Nigeria; an organisation working to promote transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and supporting the cause for extensive reforms that will address the complex challenges stalling the development of Nigeria’s extractive sector as a whole.
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The Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR) approved CES is a tool developed by CSR-in-Action for systematic and operational community engagement. The CES was developed through multi-stakeholder engagement across the nine oil-producing states and was presented to government ministries and agencies with a view to adopting the Standards and implementing it through the ministries and agencies.
How the CES Principles align with existing business activities (CSR/GMoU)
P1-SO.10 Sustainable Community Development Plan (SCDP)- Chevron’s GMoU
The CES suggests a SCDP is put in place. A SCDP is a well-structured, community-focused development plan to enhance community livelihoods and environmental protection, whilst strengthening local social relationships. The SCDP does not only identify community development projects, it also proposes timelines for implementation, suggests sources of funding for the projects and has a lifetime of about three to five years- due to the changing dynamics of the community. The CES further suggests that the SCDP be validated by the community to accord legitimacy to the plan and galvanise the community to take ownership for the projects therein, meaning the SCDP must emanate from the community and be driven by the collective will and solidarity of the entire populace.
other reports
This particular paper is the first in the research journey, and it x-rays the conflict management strategies adopted by several oil-rich countries across the world.
This report documents the various engagements carried out with the identified key stakeholders on the issues of refinery losses and oil theft in the oil-producing states of the Federation of Nigeria.