Enter the concept of "Social License" (to Operate)

My own research about the institutional discourse concerning energy development in Costa Rica (and the barriers to the energy development model) seems to indicate no formal acknowledgment by institutions that they are facing a LEGITIMATION CRISIS in the view of the organized citizenry, and public opinion in general.

In essence, the causes of the deadlock in the implementation of the dominant energy model are framed as "real or perceived" technical problems, policy issues (there isn't a policy that sets clear guidelines, or there are conflicting policies), and finally, ideological interference by some groups whose intentions are nearly charicaturized ("radical ecologists" and "union troublemakers").

Nowhere in the official government's "explanation" of why the implementation of the dominant model of energy infrastructure has come to a stand still can one find mention of governance problems, or of the notion that organized communities may have legitimate concerns about the sector.


Contrasting this, enter a group of mining companies, consultants, researchers, and at least one group dealing in energy market assessment (Business News Americas)... with a strong interest in spreading a new concept: Social License (to Operate).

Here is the reference made about the concept in the website of the University of British Columbia's N.B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering:

"Social License to Operate is rapidly becoming the new ‘vision’ for companies to recognize and embrace in order to ensure economic certainty with respect to new projects.
However, it is presently intangible and there does not appear to be a systematic method of evaluating and monitoring a project. Sustainable economic development drives the need for mining engineers to have parameters and modeling techniques that integrate social dimensions into project design."

http://www.mining.ubc.ca/SocialLicense.html#research

Business News Americas featured the concept in its Latin American Energy Intelligence Report for February 2008. (I have not downloaded the report, since it's a pretty expensive download). In the report's abstract, they make the argument that this concept is timely and necessary given the demands of Latin American social movements for for greater access to decision making and for greater accountability of electric projects.

"Social license - gaining the approval of local communities and reducing environmental impact to a minimum - is thus of ever greater importance throughout Latin Americas energy sector. This report looks at how the concept of social license has evolved in the region, how companies have learned from their mistakes, how social license affects project financing and examines some cases where greater social liaison is producing positive effects."

http://www.bnamericas.com/store/products.jsp?sku=71I10472687&sector=10&idioma=I&periodo=2008

Finally, a B.C. based consortium is promoting the greater application of the concept by industries in their relationships with stakeholders. They provide an interesting two-page outline of the concept int their website. http://socialicense.com/


So, briefly, I think the concept is promising because it promotes an awareness that when absent, as the Costa Rican case suggests, restricts the space for deliberation. Conversely, the recognition that earning legitimacy and credibility is necessary, is more consistent with an open mindset to more inclusive processes and broader social agreements.

On the other hand, it may be cause for concern if this new outlook becomes a strategy undertaken unilaterally by the business sector, particularly by the companies and their consultants in certain natural resource intensive industries. If done this way, it may become mediatized, and not attain the construction of active trust, legitimacy, AND democratic relationships that it claims to pursue.