Shell, Nigeria and the Ogoni. A study in unsustainable development: II. Corporate social responsibility and ‘stakeholder management’ versus a rights‐based approach to sustainable development

Abstract

In the first paper in this trilogy (Boele et al., 2001) we described the history of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group from its inception in 1890 through to the year 2000, discussed briefly the importance of corporate reputation to the group and described the significant impacts on Shell of the events of 1995 in Nigeria. We traced the relationship of the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation in Nigeria to impacts on the natural and social environments of the Niger Delta and more specifically on the Ogoni. Finally we discussed the emergence of political resistance and significant conflict between Shell and the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and concluded that, despite significant apparent changes in attitude at the group level, distrust and antipathy towards Shell remained entrenched in Ogoni. In this second paper, we explore in more detail issues raised by economic globalization for the practice of corporate social responsibility and stakeholder management, and contrast these concepts with an alternative ‘rights‐based’ approach to sustainable development. We relate our observations to Shell's current approach and conclude that the Shell group and specifically the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation in Nigeria may require an alternative approach to sustainable development if they wish to merit the full confidence of communities in areas of the world as complex and distressed as Ogoni. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Examining the corporate social responsibility orientation in developing countries: an empirical investigation of the Carroll's CSR pyramid

“…Unfortunately, the role and awareness of CSR is still under-developed, especially in SSA. Whereas most developed countries have advanced in CSR by looking holistically and strategically at the concept, countries in SSA region consider CSR as being primarily philanthropic (Kolk and Lenfant, 2010;Amaeshi et al, 2007;Idemudia, 2011;Wheeler et al, 2002;Boele et al, 2001). These studies show that both local and multinational companies in developing countries continue to view their CSR commitments through the lens of philanthropy.…”

People, Power, and the Coast: a Conceptual Framework for Understanding and Implementing Benefit Sharing

“…Lubke et al 1996, Ramirez et al 2005. At the same time, mining activities catalyze substantial social disruption, change and, in some cases, conflict; they diminish access to the natural resources upon which people depend; and may also cause significant health impacts (Boele et al 2001, Madihlaba 2002, Twerefou 2009). …”

“…Fishers, farmers, and even mining employees reported that the benefits that they received from mining were outweighed by the ecological and social losses they experienced. Such scenarios play themselves out again and again elsewhere in the world: the environmental and social devastation of oil pipelines in Nigeria and elsewhere (Boele et al 2001, O'Rourke and Connolly 2003, Sibaud 2012; the forced removal of communities in eastern Zimbabwe to make way for diamond mining (Katsaura 2010); and the debilitating impacts of acid-mine drainage on the health of inhabitants of the Witwatersrand (Fig 2011, Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development 2012) to name but a few examples.…”

Meeting the Targets or Re-Imagining Society? An Empirical Study into the Ethical Landscape of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage in Scotland

“…This is not morally objectionable unless one believes that continued use of coal and gas is intrinsically bad; however Ha-Duong and Loisel (2011) suggest several hundred fatalities per year should be expected if CCS is deployed at large scale, mostly from (a) having to do more inherently dangerous coal mining to fuel new CCS power stations and (b) transporting this coal by ship or train to the power stations. Environmental injustice claims have also been raised against some corporations involved in extractive industries (Boele et al, 2001). Intergenerational justice challenges too may arise from storing CO2 over thousands of years.…”