University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INITIATIVES
IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: THE ROLE OF OIL
AND GAS COMPANIES
Abstract
Lupo Stanghellini P.S a , Raffaelli C. b
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
Corso Magenta, 63 - 20123 Milan, Italy
b Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
Corso Magenta, 63 - 20123 Milan, Italy
265
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) occupies center stage of the current debate on the
operations of oil and gas companies in host countries. Since the 1990s CSR has encouraged these
companies to rethink their responsibilities and self-interest in the developing world. Furthermore,
CSR initiatives have shown a powerful potential for positive contributions to address the needs of
disadvantaged communities.
The aim of this study is to analyze the different CSR initiatives undertaken by oil and gas
companies in developing countries and to find out the various areas of intervention. For this
purpose a benchmark analysis of the information available on web-sites and of sustainability
reports of major international oil and gas companies was carried out.
As a final step, the paper investigates the problems that have characterized the evaluation of the
effective impacts of CSR actions on development and investigates future potential developments
and improvements of CSR initiatives in host countries.
Keywords: corporate social responsibility, developing countries, local community,
stakeholder engagement, human rights.
Introduction
Preoccupation with corporate ethics and the social dimension to business activity is
not new. The modern precursors of CSR can be traced back to the 19 th century
boycotts of foodstuffs produced with slave labor” (Frynas 2008: 275). Since that
period the discourse about CSR became increasingly prominent within companies,
governments and civil society (Michael 2003; Jenkins 2005). This interest may be
seen as the latest manifestation of a longstanding debate over the relationship
between business and society. Since the rise of the corporation in its modern form in
the late 19 th century, this debate has ebbed and flowed, “through periods when
corporations extend their control and period in which society attempts to regulate the
growth of corporate power and corporations attempt to re-establish their legitimacy
in the face of public criticism” (Jenkins 2005: 526).
While the origins of CSR can be traced back to the early 1900s, the focus on
international development, or rather on the private sector contribution to international