Recommendations for Government, Industry, Civil Society
TVI’s presentation to the Canadian Government Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility, submitted in Calgary, October 10, is available for download by clicking on this link.
The Government of Canada has been holding Roundtable sessions to hear the public’s
views on “recommendations for government, NGOs, labor organizations, businesses
and industry associations on ways to strengthen approaches to managing the external
impacts of international business activities to benefit both businesses and the
communities within which they work.” In other words: Corporate Social Responsibility,
particularly in the "extractive industries" of mining and petroleum,
in developing countries.
TVI recommended:
- The Canadian Government become a signatory to the Voluntary Principles on
Security and Human Rights, an initiative organized by the two NGOs, Business
for Social Responsibility, and the Prince of Wales International Business
Leaders Forum; - Industry to adopt, and report on, Best Practices in their projects, as defined
by internationally agreed standards; and to participate in the Voluntary Principles
program where security is an issue; - NGOs to commit to the Accountability Charter for NGOs, to improve responsibility,
due diligence and "CSR" in the conduct of advocacy; - Government, Civil Society, Industry to develop a system of Accredited Monitors
who could independently and professionally review CSR performance in international
projects and make recommendations.
On the basis of TVI’s experience, in which the Company’s reputation has been
unjustly impugned by Civil Society and political-agenda organizations in the
Philippines and abroad, the Company believes that a key issue is the lack of
mechanisms for credible, independent monitoring and verification of project
performance. The availability of Accredited Monitors would go a long way toward
resolving misrepresentation and conflict issues in project evaluation and execution.
The presentation reviews (in "slide" format) the context of the Canatuan
Project, TVI’s Social and Environmental Programs in the Philippines, the dynamics
created by security issues in Mindanao, and the conduct of "CSR-deficient"
Civil Society organizations in the TVI’s case … before making the recommendations.