Browsing by Author "McAllister, Mary Louise"

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    Challenges of space and place for corporate ‘citizens’ and healthy mining communities : the case of Logan Lake, BC and Highland Valley Copper.
    (2014) McAllister, Mary Louise; Fitzpatrick, Patricia; Fonseca, Alberto de Freitas Castro
    Considerable resources have been invested by global mining companies in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities without a clear understanding of whether they are meeting their goals of sustaining affected communities long after a mine closes. It is argued here that effective ‘corporate citizenship’ (which is one way of viewing CSR) requires a deeper and extended understanding of what is implied by ‘citizenship’ in the context of issues of transparency, accountability, responsibility and community engagement. This reframing of CSR is explored through the case study of Logan Lake, British Columbia, Canada. The town is situated adjacent to the Highland Valley Copper (HVC) Mine. Case study research and analysis of this town suggests that the company’s approach to CSR has generated a measure of good will within the community. Findings also reveal, however, that the town faces notable challenges with respect to the provision of health and social services despite a strong sense of community and attractive physical attributes. This paper suggests that effective ‘corporate citizenship’ practices might be better realized through participation in a regional ‘place-based governance’ strategy along with rural and remote communities that have often been marginalized by dominant political and economic interests.
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    From the Whitehorse Mining Initiative towards sustainable mining : lessons learned.
    (2011) Fitzpatrick, Patricia; Fonseca, Alberto de Freitas Castro; McAllister, Mary Louise
    Much debate has taken place within t he mineral policy community about whether or not meaningful progress has been made towards more sustainable practices. This paper investigates t he changing approaches towards sustainable development undertaken by t he Mining Association of Canada (M AC) over a period of approximately 20 years. The analysis begins in the early 1990s when MAC initiated the Whitehorse Mining Initiative (WMI) and concludes in 2010 when the association was operating under a strategy entitled Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM). The goal is to consider the nature of the learning that has taken place towards sustainability within the mineral industry using the ca se of a leading national mining association. The investigation was undertaken through a literature review as well as key informant interviews with stake holders affected by the Canadian Mining Industry. Findings suggest that MAC’ s approach to su stainable development has shif ted from an ambitious and holistic partnership involving a range of stake holders to a focused, member-specific agenda that addresses a few performance issues. The transition to TSM was based on lessons learned through working with the WMI and subsequent efforts. It reflects broader corporate tendencies to address social and ecological issues through corporate social responsibility initiatives. The implications of these trends suggest that voluntary initiatives in and of themselves should not be expected to replace the comprehensive regulatory responsibilities historically provided by government.
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    Government and voluntary policymaking for sustainability in mining towns : a longitudinal analysis of Itabira, Brazil.
    (2013) Fonseca, Alberto de Freitas Castro; Fitzpatrick, Patricia; McAllister, Mary Louise
    The socio-economic fabric of single-company mining towns needs to be carefully considered by both Government and companies in sustainability policymaking. Policy design and effectiveness in such towns are significantly impacted by the city’s economic dependence on a single company.This paper explores the perceived effectiveness of government and voluntary private sector mining policies for pursuing sustainability in the historic mining town of Itabira, Brazil over a period of 20 years. Itabira serves as a worthwhile case study because it allows for an in-depth and longitudinal analysis that can reveal valuable lessons to policymakers of different sectors and jurisdictions located elsewhere. Based on extensive face-to-face interviews and literature reviews, study results indicate that changes to the state environmental licensing policies in the 1990s led to significant socio-environmental improvements in the area. The globalization of the mining company also contributed to an increase in the quantity and quality of voluntary industry policies. Recent technological improvements in the beneficiation processes of the mining company promises to extend the life of the mine to 2050. Although there are significant incremental socio-environmental policies and programmes, sustainability remains an elusive vision in Itabira, with no clear objectives or monitoring and accountability mechanisms. The paper concludes by recommending a more formal integrated policymaking framework.
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    Measuring what? : a comparative anatomy of five mining sustainability frameworks.
    (2013) Fonseca, Alberto de Freitas Castro; McAllister, Mary Louise; Fitzpatrick, Patricia
    Recent years have seen a proliferation of frameworks for assessing and reporting mining sustainability. While these frameworks vary substantially in scope and approach, they all seem to share the purported goal of better informing decision-makers about the future implications of mining to the environment and society. Whether they do so, however, remains an open question. The purpose of this paper is to describe, compare and critically analyse five sustainability assessment and reporting frameworks used by, or proposed for, the mining industry. Based on literature reviews, the paper highlights the underlying assumptions of those frameworks and presents a diagram that helps to clarify aspects such as temporal orientation, geographical scope and quantity of indicators. Three out of the five frameworks follow a siloed approach to assessing mining sustainability, overlooking trade-offs and synergies among variables and sustainability dimensions. None of the frameworks seems to fully shed light on the problem of mineral scarcity and the effective legacy of mineral operations. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need to carefully consider the information generated by the analysed frameworks and suggest more fruitful ways to foster sustainability reports.
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    Sustainability reporting among mining corporations : a constructive critique of the GRI approach.
    (2012) Fonseca, Alberto de Freitas Castro; McAllister, Mary Louise; Fitzpatrick, Patricia
    The environmental crisis is giving rise to growing public demand for socially responsible and ecologically viable mining practices. Large mining corporations are responding by advancing the idea of a sustainable mining industry. These responses are accompanied by concerted efforts to advertise a company’s relative progress in this direction through the publication of sustainability reports based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Framework. Many scholars contest the effectiveness of that framework, arguing that GRIbased reports can mislead decision-makers who are concerned with sustainability, or even camouflage unsustainable practices, particularly at the site level. Few scholars, however, have scratched below the surface of criticism in order to consider how to improve the effectiveness of that framework. This article takes a closer look at this problem by answering the following question: What needs to be changed in mining corporations’ GRI-based frameworks for the purpose of promoting more meaningful and reliable sustainability performance information? This article followed a qualitative methodological approach based on literature reviews and 41 semi-structured interviews. The analysis was guided by an evaluation of the extent to which the predominant GRI-based approach to sustainability reporting meets a number of principles of sustainability assessment and reporting, known as the BellagioSTAMP principles. This paper outlines a number of specific changes that should be promoted in mining corporations’ frameworks if their reports are to provide meaningful and accurate information about sustainability progress. Such changes include a more systematic consideration of site-level performance, scenario building, and legacy effects. Overall, this article corroborates the view that meaningful and reliable standardized disclosures of contributions to sustainability are unlikely to emerge any time soon. The geographical dispersion of mining facilities imposes substantial difficulties to the contextualization of sustainability evaluations.