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August 2019 Newsletter
Dear Colleagues,
The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) is pleased to update you on several events, recent publications and projects at the Center. Please check our website for more information about these and other activities.
Announcements
Publications
Upcoming Events
Past Events
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CCSI-FAO E-Learning on "Creating an Enabling Environment for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems"
CCSI and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have launched an e-learning course on ‘Creating an Enabling Environment for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems.’ The course provides an overview of the Committee on World Food Security’s Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) and identifies the key roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders in creating an environment conducive to sustainable development. The online course is free, downloadable, and takes approximately 3 hours to complete. French and Spanish versions of the course are forthcoming.
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Enrollment now open for the Massive Open Online Course on Natural Resources for Sustainable Development
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Internship Opportunities for Fall 2019
CCSI is hiring! This fall, we are offering a number of unpaid and paid research and administrative internships for undergraduate and graduate students. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, CV, and writing sample to Nancy Siporin (NSipor@law.columbia.edu) unless otherwise specified. The deadline to apply is September 15th.
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African Mining and the SDGs: From Vision to Reality
CCSI’s Perrine Toledano co-authored a book chapter entitled African Mining and the SDGs: From Vision to Reality in the edited volume Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals (Springer, Cham). This chapter focuses on the potential contribution of the mining industry (both large-scale mining and artisanal mining) to the attainment of the SDGs in Africa. It argues that while some of the major global mining companies are able to show a contribution to the SDGs through specific projects in Africa, it is more challenging to implement, scale-up and measure the impact of the SDG framework for the industry as a whole.
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Using the SDG Framework to Advance Local Development Where Vale Operates: A Case Study From Canaã dos Carajás
Canaá dos Carajás, Brazil will soon host the largest iron-ore mine in the world, and the Vale Foundation has developed several projects over the years to support development there. This brief highlights how the SDG framework can help stakeholders in mining-impacted regions identify areas for intervention, coordinate activities among public and private actors, assess the impact of development interventions, and adapt their plans accordingly. Brazil has granular sub-national statistics and has developed SDG-aligned data collection and monitoring platforms that are showcased in this brief. As such, it provides a good case study to feed into CCSI’s work on localizing the SDGs in mining-impacted regions to advance data-driven development planning.
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Devising a Carbon Accounting Framework for the Mining Industry
CCSI, in collaboration with the MIT Sustainable Supply Chains initiative and the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Materials initiative, has formed a working group to engage minerals producers, end-users, investors, and other stakeholders to collaboratively develop a joint carbon accounting framework for the minerals industry and its supply chain partners, with the goal of the industry's certification as “Built on the GHG Protocol.” This will equip stakeholders with an understanding of the emissions of metals and minerals used in end-products (e.g. renewable energy systems, buildings, electronics, and electric cars), as the current absence of a mining-tailored carbon accounting framework makes it impossible to compare mining companies' disclosures of carbon emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3.
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Political Challenges facing Chinese Extractive Investment in Latin America: A South – South Conversation
Cynthia Sanborn, of the Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru, recently interviewed Weijun Xie, Vice President of China Minmetals Rare Earth Co., Ltd, (both members of the Executive Session on the Politics of Extractive Industries), about the rising prominence of Chinese companies in global extractive projects. Their conversation addresses the political concerns of Chinese investors as they enter a sector historically dominated by European and American companies. It also addresses the on-the-ground political challenges of effective communication, transparency and consultation that affect all extractive industry investments, but particularly newer entrants, such as Chinese enterprises.
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Upcoming Events
September 25, 2019: Aligning Corporations with the Sustainable Development Goals (Columbia International Investment Conference)
Interest in the private sector’s opportunities and responsibilities with respect to sustainable development and human rights has exploded in recent years, reflected both in the rise of environment, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in investment decisions as well as in the growth of voluntary initiatives and mandatory sustainability reporting by companies. Yet real questions remain as to whether this increased recognition of the importance of non-financial variables has resulted or will result in sustainable and responsible corporate practices and improved outcomes on the ground. CCSI’s 14th Annual International Investment Conference aims to clearly and rigorously define SDG-aligned corporate activity. The conference will take stock of what has already been achieved in terms of identifying relevant metrics and indicators, and in terms of ensuring meaningful reporting and assessment in accordance with these indicators, so that new voluntary and regulatory efforts can build on optimal approaches and fill gaps where they exist. Registration is free but required.
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September 25, 2019: The Global Pact for the Environment and the Sustainable Development Agenda
On the evening of September 25, 2019, CCSI will host its third annual conference to discuss the Global Pact for the Environment. This year’s conference will focus on possible opportunities for a Global Pact for the Environment, which aims to unify international environmental governance and codify a human right to the environment in international law, to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Panelists will discuss how a Global Pact could serve the three overarching pillars of the Sustainable Development Agenda: promoting social inclusion, environmental protection, and economic development. Registration is free but required.
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September 27, 2019: The Climate Crisis, Global Land Use, and Human Rights
The climate crisis threatens to dramatically alter people’s relationships with the land on which they rely. Meanwhile, many climate solutions, including renewable installations, are themselves land-intensive, threatening to increase competition for community and arable land. This conference will analyze the critical role that land plays in achieving climate solutions, the degree to which climate change may reshape regional abilities to support sustainable ecosystems, and the ways in which these land and climate interactions might affect land rights, human rights, and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Registration is free but required.
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Fall 2019 International Investment Law and Policy Speaker Series
This fall, beginning on September 5th, CCSI will host its 14th annual International Investment Law and Policy Speaker Series. Speakers will include: Taylor St. John, Assistant Professor, University of St Andrews; Paolo Di Rosa, Partner & Head of International Arbitration Practice Group, Arnold & Porter LLP; Grant Hanessian, Partner & Chair of International Arbitration Group in North America, Baker McKenzie; Martti Koskenniemi, Professor of International Law, University of Helsinki, and Director of Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights; Mouhamadou Kane, Founder & Executive Director, African Center of International Law Practice (ACILP); Abrão Miguel Árabe Neto, Executive Vice President, Amcham Brasil; and Kyla Tienharra, Canada Research Chair in Economy & Environment, and Assistant Professor, Queen’s University.
The series, moderated by Grant Hanessian, Maria Chedid and Kabir Duggal, is co-sponsored by Baker McKenzie and Arnold & Porter. All talks will take place in Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia Law School.
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Past Events
July 8, 2019: Workshop on Agricultural Investment Contracts in Sierra Leone
In collaboration with the Sierra Leone Bar Association and Namati Sierra Leone, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Legal Researcher at CCSI, organized and co-led a workshop on best practices in agricultural investment contract negotiation for lawyers in private practice and government. The workshop, which took place in Freetown last month, considered good practices in the negotiation of both investor-state contracts and community-investor contracts.
July 17, 2019: Workshop on Shared Use of Mining – Related Infrastructure in Lima
Extractive Industry lead Perrine Toledano presented CCSI’s approach to shared–use of mining–related infrastructure to an audience of government officials and academics gathered by the IFC in Lima. She focused on water, energy and fiber optics. Sharing mining–related infrastructure could help fill $15 billion per year of the Latin American infrastructure funding gap.
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