Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

72 swanson, oldgard, and lundeflows thus may be determined by the level of pressure on companies topublish a complete sustainability report.EC8, the indicator related most directly to revenue transparency, concernsthe total sum of taxes of all types paid broken down by country.The term “taxes” could include all payments made to governments,including facilitation payments, signature bonuses, and royalties. However,companies could interpret it differently as long as indirect taxes orpayments are not specified.The consultation process is intended to be continuous, and for theforeseeable future each revision is likely to increase the amount anddetail of information required from reporting companies. Developmentsin the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines will be importantfor other forums as well.One suggestion that could increase the impact of the Global ReportingInitiative on transparency of resource revenues is to definetaxes and specifically note that disclosure should include all payments,including signature bonuses. Another suggestion is to tightenup the recommendations for implementation, for example, by settinga recommended time frame for inclusion of all relevant indicators,which would include EC8 in the case of natural resource extractioncompanies.In summary, the Global Reporting Initiative has potential strongand weak points:• It continues to set the standard for sustainability reporting.• It mentions taxes specifically by country.• Guidelines for gradual introduction of “full” Global ReportingInitiative reporting may give companies too much discretion, perhapsallowing them to avoid using EC8 indefinitely.• EC8 refers simply to taxes, allowing companies to decide whetherto report signature bonuses and other relevant payments.Minerals, Mining, and Sustainable Development. Mining, Minerals,and Sustainable Development was a two-year process that ended inMay 2002 with a final report (MMSD 2002). Nine of the world’s largestmining companies initiated the project through the World BusinessCouncil for Sustainable Development. The International Institute forEnvironment and Development managed MMSD, in collaboration withthe Global Mining Initiative. The MMSD Project focused on research,aprocess of stakeholder engagement, and a program of informationexchange.The sustainable development principles that came out of the processcover economic, social, environmental, and governance issues. However,the project essentially produced a review of current issues and