Negotiating uncertainty: Corporate responsibility and Greenland’s energy future

Abstract

Until recently energy and minerals development were seen as a promising way for Greenland to earn the revenues to gain full independence from Denmark. Yet with the collapse in the price of oil in 2014, a future that is reliant on commodity markets is looking less certain. This paper looks at Greenland's hydrocarbon sector through the lens of corporate social responsibility. Greenland's business community has a well-developed sense of what CSR means in the Greenlandic context, while foreign companies have introduced the need to systematise these values as business strategy and policies. A weakness in the potential of foreign companies to contribute to sustainable local-level development is the possibility of them withdrawing when investments no longer appear viable, as some oil majors did in January 2015. Government capacities need to evolve to address the heightened risks of environmental damage, societal vulnerability and the unpredictability of investment and revenues associated with extractive industry development. A particular challenge is the lack of meaningful public involvement in decision making and the risk that the ‘social licence to operate' of future energy projects will be determined by a few elected politicians. The role of civil society is critical to help tackle this challenge.