Yale-WWF_final

Synthesis report on the Yale-WWF workshop:Environmental and Social Risk Management ofChinese Transnational corporations2014 Yale-WWF Workshop Organizing Committee1. Workshop backgroundAn increasing number of Chinese enterprises have globalized their business operations withsignificant investment in other developing economies. Meanwhile, managing environmentaland social risks of these investments has become a critical challenge for Chinese transnationalcorporations (TNCs), especially for enterprises investing in extractive and infrastructureactivities. The lack of attention to environmental and social responsibility will jeopardize longtermrelationships with the host community and country, and the project operation itself. Gapsremain in complying with domestic and international guidelines, standards, and safeguardsestablished to manage risks so as to control or minimize negative impacts of unforeseenenvironmental, political, and financial disruptions.On April 5, 2014, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (Yale F&ES) andthe World Wildlife Fund (WWF) co-organized the workshop “Environmental and Social RiskManagement of Chinese transnational corporations” to foster discussions around thechallenges and opportunities for Chinese TNCs and how they can enhance theirenvironmental and social performances overseas. It brought together 14 speakers with a widerange of backgrounds including Chinese corporate managers, multilateral policy bankmanagers, academic scholars, and public policy experts from the public and private sector.Many students, professors, resident scholars, and alumni from the entire Yale community alsojoined the conversations.This synthesis report is organized around three main themes highlighted throughout theworkshop. The first part takes an overview of China’s economic expansion and theaccompanying social ecological challenges and opportunities. The second part focuses onpatterns of local interactions of Chinese FDI in hydro dam construction and extractive sector.The third part addresses environmental and social risk management and standards in thecontext of public policy and corporate social responsibility. The last section concludes withrecommendations for a new analytical framework to tackle these challenges.2. Overview of Chinese outward foreign direct investment:New challenges to global environment and societyChina’s recent trade and investment relationship with the rest of the world has captured theimagination among western commentators, scholars, environmental groups, diplomats, andpoliticians alike. At the end of last century, China doubled the GDP for 1 billion people in just1