Types Policy and Advisory Work

Policy and Advisory Work

Drawing on its interdisciplinary research, CCSI works with governments, the private sector, civil society and communities to formulate and implement policies and practical strategies in support of a mutually beneficial sustainable investment framework.

Equipping the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation for the Low-Carbon Transition How Are Other National Oil Companies Adapting?

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) persistent governance challenges have both hampered Nigeria’s oil sector development and deprived the country of public resources. The oil, climate, and COVID-19 crises and the ramp-up of the low-carbon transition exacerbate this reality, with the national oil company (NOC) delivering sub-optimal returns to its stakeholders. Other NOCs have taken… read more

Tracking Impacts and Making Effective Use of Environmental Impact Assessments for Guinea’s Bauxite Mining

As part of a two-year funded research project co-sponsored by the Earth Frontiers Seed Grant of Columbia’s Earth Institute and the UN Development Programme in Guinea, led by Principal Investigator Lynnette Widder, CCSI is conducting a legal review of the current environmental and political framework for regulating the mining industry in Guinea.

The African Green Deal

As with all regions of the world, Africa must urgently consider its energy future.  Africa is rich in zero-carbon energy sources, including hydroelectric, solar, geothermal, and offshore wind energy, varying by region. It is also in urgent need of scaling up modern energy services as per SDG 7, especially 100% access to electrification and safe… read more

A Review of Sierra Leone’s Mines and Minerals Act

With the support of Oxfam, the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment reviewed select provisions in the Mines and Minerals Act 2009 and corresponding policy statements from the Minerals Policy 2018 to provide recommendations for how to best align the anticipated new mining law with international best practice.

Study on Major Initiatives Promoting Good Governance of the Extractives Sector

CCSI conducted a study that maps a selection of the major initiatives designed to promote good governance of the extractives sector for GIZ. The mapping describes the scope and use of each initiative and highlights areas where initiatives overlap in their approach and focus. The mapping provides recommendations on the applicability of different subsets of frameworks and initiatives to different tasks and circumstances.

Statutory Recognition of Customary Land Rights in Africa: Lessons for Sierra Leone

In collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, CCSI conducted a comparative study of laws that recognize customary land rights in six countries in Africa. The study was carried out to assist the Government of Sierra Leone and the Stakeholder Platform on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure as… read more

Achieving Sustainable Development in the Coffee Sector

Coffee, the world’s favorite beverage, provides livelihoods for at least 60 million people across dozens of countries. Promoting the long-term health, wellbeing, and environmental sustainability of the much beloved coffee sector should be a clear priority. Yet coffee is experiencing a sustainability crisis. A sustained decline in world coffee prices has squeezed coffee producers, and thrown… read more

Support to the UN SDSN on the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda

CCSI provides ongoing support to the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN) Thematic Group 10 on Good Governance of Extractive and Land Resources. This has included technical support on reports and documents during the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as development of potential indicators to measure progress toward the SDGs. In addition, CCSI and the Thematic Network have worked together on several projects to identify research gaps and generate innovative solutions.

Integrating the SDGs in Company Sustainability Strategies

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent the world’s comprehensive post-2015 agenda for equitable, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable economic development. Meeting the SDGs by 2030 will require unprecedented cooperation and collaboration among governments, non-governmental organizations, development partners, the private sector and communities. Unlike the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDG framework calls upon the private sector to incorporate the goals into its practices and operations. CCSI is working with a leading energy company to align its sustainability strategy to the SDGs.

Localizing the SDGs: Data-Driven Development Planning

CCSI is supporting the local governments in Huasco Province, Chile, to develop a roadmap for a long-term development strategy that will take into account the large-scale mining investment by Nueva Union, a joint venture of Teck and Goldcorp. The copper-gold mining project is expected to make up 60% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Province during operations and will alter the socio-economic dynamics in the Province.

Do Companies Have Personalities (and Does It Matter?)

CCSI has launched an interview series on “company personalities” looking in particular at how a company’s personality determines its negotiation strategy, the contractual provisions it pushes for, and the overall relationship between the company and the host governments. The interviewees are senior experts who have many decades of experience in advising governments in resource rich countries.

Mozambique: Development of a Five-Pillar Plan for Resource-Based Development

This 2011 project examined how the vast resource deposits in the Tete province, combined with other major investments along the Nacala and Beira corridors, can be the basis for sustainable, equitable and inclusive growth in the Lower Zambezi Basin.

International Gas Outlook and Implications for Developing Tanzania’s Gas Projects

In partnership with the Uongozi Institute, CCSI prepared a brief that reviews recent developments in the international gas market, with particular focus on proposed offshore gas projects in Tanzania. As Tanzania positions itself to benefit from gas discoveries by increasing its domestic gas use, the brief outlines some of the trade-offs and considerations for negotiating the domestic gas allocation.

Third Party Funding in Investor-State Dispute Settlement

Modern forms of third party funding are no longer new to international arbitration. Recent years have seen significant increases in the number of funders, the number of funded cases, the number of law firms working with funders and the number of reported cases involving issues relating to funding. When third-party funding is used in investor-state… read more

Think20 (T20) Trade and Investment Task Force Reports

The Think20 (T20) is an initiative that brings together research institutes and think tanks from the G20 countries to develop policy recommendations within thematic Task Forces. CCSI staff member Lise Johnson was a member of the Trade and Investment Task Force, contributing to a Policy Brief presenting recommendations for the G20’s engagement with the multilateral… read more

Support in Analyzing Contracts

CCSI assists stakeholders, researchers, and advocacy organizations by analyzing resource contracts for human rights, fiscal, sustainable development, and environmental implications.

Supporting Governments and Civil Society: Legal Frameworks Governing Extractive Industries

CCSI advises governments and civil society organizations on various issues relating to the legal frameworks that govern extractive industries.

DRC: Human Rights Impact Assessments For Mining Projects

CCSI supported local organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to carry out human rights impact assessments, as well as developing two economic models for the Sicomines mine in the DRC to compare the financial flows under the resource for infrastructure deal with a ‘traditional’ contract under the mining code of the DRC.

Advocating for Transparency

CCSI advocates for transparency in a number of fora. Given the important role that home states could play to encourage greater disclosure of information regarding land-based investment, CCSI has made multiple submissions to home state entities suggesting the introduction or expansion of disclosure requirements for companies.

Investment Arbitration and Human Rights

CCSI focuses on the intersection of international investment law and international human rights law, and the impacts of their application for the most vulnerable of rights-holders. Among other things, this includes a specific focus on investment arbitrations, and their implications for the realization of human rights.

Tanzania Diagnostic Trade Integration Study

CCSI was contracted to write the extractive industries section of the World Bank Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) for Tanzania. The study identifies the internal and external trade constraints that hinder the development of the priority sectors, and provides policy recommendations on how these obstacles can be overcome.

Access to Justice

Among the critical issues that arise from the interaction of human rights and investment law is whether and how the relatively greater access to justice provided to aggrieved investors by the international investment regime undermines access to justice for other individuals and communities, including those affected by large-scale land-based investment.

Bridging the Gaps between Investment Law and Environmental Policy

CCSI is reviewing international investment agreements and the case law interpreting them, and analyzing what the treaties mean for domestic environmental policy.

Making Investment Treaties Work for Sustainable Development: Addressing Challenges in Existing Agreements and Designing New Frameworks

CCSI is providing policy and advisory to governments on using investment treaties to support advancement of policy goals, and also supporting other inter- and non-governmental organizations in these areas.

Improving the International Law and Policy Regime

This project, commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, seeks to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the current international investment law and policy regime and outline options for improvement.

Paraguay: Leveraging Paraguay’s Hydropower for Sustainable Economic Development

This advisory project, undertaken for the Government of Paraguay, explored the potential for creating a climate risk management system, and developing sustainable agricultural activities, to mitigate environmental vulnerability; and developed a high-level strategic plan around using Paraguay’s vast hydropower resources for sustainable economic development, and the diversification of its economy.

Promoting Transparency in Investor-State Arbitration

Committed to the belief that transparency in investor-state arbitration is fundamental for accountability, good governance, and the rule of law, elements which are, in turn, crucial for sustainable development, CCSI has been involved in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) proceedings to increase public access to information regarding disputes.

Timor-Leste: Support to the Strategic Development Plan

CCSI supported the drafting and adoption of the 20 year Strategic Development Plan (SDP) for Timor-Leste, and helped to develop new institutions and laws to optimize the use of the country’s petroleum fund for development.

United Nations Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations: Experience and Lessons Learned

The first effort to arrive at comprehensive and balanced rules governing the relations of governments and multinational enterprises were undertaken in the United Nations a few decades ago. The negotiations of a United Nations Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations began in the late 1970s against the background of the quest for a New International Economic Order,… read more