Linking or de-linking sustainable mining practices and corporate social responsibility? Insights from Ghana

Abstract

In spite of the growing popularity of this endeavor, it can be argued that it is not a corporation's primary objective to advance development in areas where they operate. However, due to prevailing community concerns and the negative ramifications of their activities on local livelihoods, they tend to embrace this idea both in discourse and actual corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Thus, our goal is not to argue that mining companies have not embraced the notion of ‘sustainable development’. Instead, we seek to highlight the discrepancy that exists between practices they consider to be sustainable and the experiences and perceptions of local communities regarding such activities. Based on our analysis of two gold mining companies in Ghana, we suggest that this discrepancy prevails due to the mere focus on land reclamation and other disjointed CSR programs instead of a more nuanced framework that places affected communities at its core.