Nina Hall

Social licence to operate: An opportunity to enhance CSR for deeper communication and engagement

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate how the social licence to operate (SLO) concept is currently perceived and communicated during stakeholder engagement, as an extension of corporate social responsibility (CSR). To ensure an applied exploration of SLO, this paper focused on the wind industry. Design/methodology/approach – Telephone interviews were conducted with 18 wind industry representatives responsible for stakeholder engagement in Australia. Questions focused upon understanding of consultation and SLO, perceptions of SLO in practice, and experiences regarding community engagement. Findings – SLO is broadly understood by the case study wind industry representatives as majority acceptance held by community and other stakeholders, although no common definition was expressed. This indicates that the concept has not transferred clearly or directly to the wind industry. Despite this, the benefits of seeking an SLO through consultative and ongoing communication practices were recognised a...

Can the “Social Licence to Operate” Concept Enhance Engagement and Increase Acceptance of Renewable Energy? A Case Study of Wind Farms in Australia

Social licence to operate (SLO) is the ongoing acceptance or approval for a development that is granted by the local community and other stakeholders. From the current media and political attention on Australian wind farms, it appears that many specific wind farms, or indeed the industry as a whole, may not hold an SLO with affected stakeholders. This research was undertaken to examine whether the SLO might be a useful framework to enhance engagement and increase societal understanding of wind farms. Twenty-seven interviews across nine wind farms were conducted with stakeholders representing wind companies, local government authorities, local opposition, local support and turbine hosts. The interviews revealed a complexity of concerns that informed the stakeholders’ perspectives, including “game-changing” issues that may stand to significantly increase wind farm acceptance. The results are presented with practical steps towards the development of a preliminary working model of an SLO for Australian wind farms that addresses identified concerns. The emerging concept of SLO appears to provide a useful framework for wind farm developers to incorporate an improved model of consultation that engages local communities in ways that could enhance transparency and local support, and complement formal regulatory processes.

Empowerment of individuals and realization of community agency: Applying action research to climate change responses in Australia

Using Participatory Action Research (PAR), the research presented here sought to resolve the problematic of whether climate group-initiated legislation could stimulate effective policy action on climate change. In late 2006, Australian public concern about the impacts of climate change and the Federal Government’s weak response became more pronounced due to increased media coverage and international developments. Locally based citizens’ ‘climate groups’ began to form, including Climate Action Coogee (CAC) in Sydney. CAC wrote their own Australian Climate Protection Bill after being motivated by the UK’s grassroots success in developing and promoting the UK Climate Change Bill. This article documents 10 months of the project, from inception to widespread grassroots endorsement and political awareness of the Bill. The use of PAR processes tested and further developed the theory of double-loop learning and its applicability to such a project. These processes allowed CAC coparticipants to experience a transformation in their agency through developing their personal and collective political power. The project contributed to legislative outcomes on climate change. The findings contribute to academic literature by demonstrating the effectiveness of PAR in guiding social movement campaigns.

Community corporate engagement on water resource impacts: opportunities for Social Licence to Operate

Abstract Large-scale water use in mining and agriculture is a critical community concern and improved engagement is required, as mining and large-scale agriculture can and will affect the quality, quantity, availability and ownership of water supplies. Some opposition has developed from communities and other stakeholders affected by these operations. Stakeholder theory and the associated business constructs of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Social Licence to Operate (SLO) exist to guide engagement with impacted communities and other stakeholders in collaborative water management. The SLO concept has been applied and adopted most extensively in the mining industry, but is now expanding to use in agriculture and may be adequate for use in water resource stakeholder engagement internationally and in Australia. This article is relevant for a corporate, research and community audience seeking stakeholder-centric processes of engagement on large-scale water management.

Implementing the United Nations’ sustainable development goals for water and beyond in Australia: A proposed systems approach

ABSTRACT The 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) form an internationally-agreed agenda for development, and include a dedicated goal for water and sanitation (SDG 6). Yet, the presentation of the SDGs potentially invites appraisal and response ‘goal-by-goal’- to the possible neglect of the mutual influences between them.We applied a systems approach to understand the interrelationships in an Australian context. While there are multiple potential ‘readings’ of these interrelationships, our approach is intended to initiate debate around the SDG commitments. We found the SDGs for global partnerships (SDG 17) and climate action (SDG 13) are enabling influences for the other goals, and the SDG for health (SDG 3) is influenced by all the other goals. Within SDG 6, we found that integrated water resources management target (SDG 6.5) is key to achieving the other targets. Inter-sectoral collaboration by government agencies will be essential to progress achievement of the SDGs.

A case study of farming in Australia’s high rainfall zone: exploring past and future potential farming intensification and biodiversity management

This case study explored the intentions of farmers to intensify their farming in Australia’s high rainfall zone (HRZ). The zone spans across eastern Australia and small portions of South Australia and south-western Western Australia. The zone supports both high farming productivity and significant biodiversity, and has the potential for future intensification. The research aim was to identify past and future planned changes to farming intensification, the motivations for such changes and the existing approaches for conserving biodiversity. Seventeen farmers were interviewed from across the zone’s three regions. These interviews afforded in-depth exploration of intensification from a perspective that was scarce in the literature. The interviews indicated that the majority of farmers had increased cropping over the last five years, whereas both cropping and the grazing of sheep were likely to increase over the next five years. Farmers reflected a strong commitment to biodiversity conservation initiatives, although the ability to carry out these initiatives was reported to be contingent on resources that were constrained during land use change and intensification. Given that such change brings both biodiversity conservation opportunities and threats, these findings can inform agricultural extension and policy that is concerned with the intensification of farming in the HRZ.