A sustainable CSR instrument for the Brazilian mining sector

Abstract

We develop a double proposal: a shift in the COP* efforts and output coupled with a deeper and more effective incorporation of the sustainability dimension in CSR. The mining sector in Brazil is the testing field for this endeavour, through specially designed corporate codes of conduct for the sector. The shift amounts to giving room to bottom-up agreements in which the Conference would exert a co-ordinating role, the measures being meaningless without the full engagement of the related actors. The codes of conduct follow a flexible and customised structure for answering sustainability demands. The methodology can be applied to a variety of significant groups of actors and situations; it can also be a factor for enlarging the scope of CSR instruments, bringing, at the side of traditional dimensions like labour and concerns for the communities involved, an explicit sustainability dimension. The approach can be spread to other countries and partners, enlarging its positive externalities and providing grounds for improvements and complements. * Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change