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Mining under the Sustainable Development Framework

Hallqvist, Sophia LU (2019) STVK12 20191
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Up until the late 1990s, the mining industry as a whole has been scrutinised for being unsuitable. In response to heavy criticism, nowadays several mining companies has adopted sustainable development principles, namely the ICMM sustainable development Framework. The adoption of this framework led to mining companies adapting their sustainability strategies and initiatives to best fit the framework. This also suggest that mining companies can help trigger local economic development. This thesis examines how a mining company has used the principles under the framework in their initiatives to contribute to sustainable economic development. The research undergoes a single case study analysis focusing on Gold Fields. This work, by using the... (More)
Up until the late 1990s, the mining industry as a whole has been scrutinised for being unsuitable. In response to heavy criticism, nowadays several mining companies has adopted sustainable development principles, namely the ICMM sustainable development Framework. The adoption of this framework led to mining companies adapting their sustainability strategies and initiatives to best fit the framework. This also suggest that mining companies can help trigger local economic development. This thesis examines how a mining company has used the principles under the framework in their initiatives to contribute to sustainable economic development. The research undergoes a single case study analysis focusing on Gold Fields. This work, by using the local economic development theory confirms that mining plays and contributes in an important way to local economies. The main argument this thesis bring is that mining companies can indeed help to contribute to local economic growth, however their potential to do so has been underestimated. This study reaches three conclusions that Gold Fields has done to contribute to sustainable economic development. First, the company has localised their initiates by creating programs that directly address social needs. Second, the company have focused on both indirect and direct forms of employment, and their more important, GF has increased knowledge and skills in society. Moreover, they have used local capital to create competitive advantage. Lastly, the local conditions where mines are located impacted the outcome of Gold Fields programs, and moreover highlighted that the responsibility to contribute to local economic development, is a shared responsibility between multi-level actors. Meaning that forming collaborations with local government actors to increase the human capital. The thesis concludes that Gold Fields is a catalyser of sustainable economic development in the region and the company has adapted the framework to best suit the local context. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Hallqvist, Sophia LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
A case study of Gold Fields impact on Local Economic Development
course
STVK12 20191
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
local economic development, sustainable development, human capital, community development, mining companies, diversification, employment
language
English
id
8976627
date added to LUP
2019-09-06 09:11:50
date last changed
2019-09-06 09:11:50
@misc{8976627,
  abstract     = {{Up until the late 1990s, the mining industry as a whole has been scrutinised for being unsuitable. In response to heavy criticism, nowadays several mining companies has adopted sustainable development principles, namely the ICMM sustainable development Framework. The adoption of this framework led to mining companies adapting their sustainability strategies and initiatives to best fit the framework. This also suggest that mining companies can help trigger local economic development. This thesis examines how a mining company has used the principles under the framework in their initiatives to contribute to sustainable economic development. The research undergoes a single case study analysis focusing on Gold Fields. This work, by using the local economic development theory confirms that mining plays and contributes in an important way to local economies. The main argument this thesis bring is that mining companies can indeed help to contribute to local economic growth, however their potential to do so has been underestimated. This study reaches three conclusions that Gold Fields has done to contribute to sustainable economic development. First, the company has localised their initiates by creating programs that directly address social needs. Second, the company have focused on both indirect and direct forms of employment, and their more important, GF has increased knowledge and skills in society. Moreover, they have used local capital to create competitive advantage. Lastly, the local conditions where mines are located impacted the outcome of Gold Fields programs, and moreover highlighted that the responsibility to contribute to local economic development, is a shared responsibility between multi-level actors. Meaning that forming collaborations with local government actors to increase the human capital. The thesis concludes that Gold Fields is a catalyser of sustainable economic development in the region and the company has adapted the framework to best suit the local context.}},
  author       = {{Hallqvist, Sophia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Mining under the Sustainable Development Framework}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}