Abstract
The concept of social licence to operate (SLO) is an increasingly popular tool for companies to manage their relations with the local communities. SLO is very seldom used in the nuclear sector, which has nevertheless applied similar approaches, under notions such as partnership and participatory governance. This article explores the specific challenges that the application of SLO faces in the nuclear waste management (NWM) sector, by applying an often-used SLO framework of Boutilier and Thomson to illustrative case studies concerning nuclear waste repository projects in Finland, France and Sweden. Among the specificities of this sector, the article focuses on the central roles of the state in the governance of a project designed as a local solution to a national, even a global problem, entailing extremely long-term challenges, in a context when the state has a vested interest in the project obtaining an SLO. The article suggests that state-related elements be added to the four key criteria of the Boutilier and Thomson framework, which consists of economic and socio-political legitimacy, and interactional and institutionalised trust. To account for the diversity of settings, such as the ‘high-trust’ contexts of Finland and Sweden and the French ‘society of mistrust’, further analysis and conceptual refinement are needed, especially concerning the multiple dimensions of trust and mistrust, the relationships between legal, political, and social licences, and the specific challenges of intergenerational justice in SLO work.
Highlights
With its roots in extractive and forestry industries, including energy and natural resource sectors, the concept of Social licence to operate (SLO) has become a preferred tool for an increasing number of companies and organisations, operating in various sectors, to manage their community relations and reputational risks [1, p. 1779; 2–7]
We explore the specific challenges that the application of SLO faces in the nuclear waste management (NWM) sector, by applying one of the most well-known SLO frameworks, the “arrowhead model” of Boutilier and Thomson [12; see 1,11] to illustrative case studies concerning nuclear waste repository projects in Finland, France and Sweden
Recent research has highlighted how governance and institutions at multiple levels shape the acquisition of an SLO [e.g. 13–15], yet we argue that SLO theory and practice need to pay greater attention to the roles of the state
Summary
With its roots in extractive and forestry industries, including energy and natural resource sectors, the concept of Social licence to operate (SLO) has become a preferred tool for an increasing number of companies and organisations, operating in various sectors, to manage their community relations and reputational risks [1, p. 1779; 2–7]. We explore the specific challenges that the application of SLO faces in the nuclear waste management (NWM) sector, by applying one of the most well-known SLO frameworks, the “arrowhead model” of Boutilier and Thomson [12; see 1,11] to illustrative case studies concerning nuclear waste repository projects in Finland, France and Sweden. The extremely long timescales and risks involved in NWM set these projects apart from ‘conventional’ SLO projects: high-level radioactive waste needs to remain isolated from living organisms for up to hundreds of thousands of years. This accentuates the roles of the state, as a lasting albeit not eternal institution, mediating between the public, private and community interests. Section seven concludes by summarising the key aspects that need to be considered in further work to integrate the ‘state dimension’, and suggests themes for further research
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