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.