Search

Assessment of containment (storage site integrity) is a key activity in the evaluation, and a requirement for approval, of potential CO2 storage sites. Here we present the workflow used for, and key results of, the containment risk assessment (CRA) in the Northern Lights project, which is the transport and storage part of the Norwegian “Longship” full-scale CCS project. In the Northern Lights project, CO2 storage is planned to take place at the Aurora site (Exploitation license EL001), southwest of the Troll Field. Injection is planned into the sandstone-rich Johansen Formation (Lower Jurassic Dunlin Group). The argillaceous upper member of the Dunlin Group, the Drake Formation, provides the main seal for the storage reservoir. Several further barrier and baffle units and intervening sandstones are present between the Drake Fm. and the sand-rich units of the Viking Group, which contain the giant Troll field with a high level of depletion to date. The injection site is located downdip of – and stratigraphically deeper than – the Troll West gas province (TWGP). Injected CO2 is expected to move slowly over time buoyancy-driven up-dip (northwards), with a small proportion reaching eventually the structural trap underneath the TWGP. A key method utilized in the Aurora CRA is the bowtie method. Bowties were prepared for each identified “leakage” pathway (according to the definition in the EU CO2 Storage Directive, thus not implying any emission to the water column) instead of per “leakage” mechanism, as has been the case in previous CO2 storage CRAs. The bowties were designed to allow for updates, which took place as new data or interpretations became available. A major update occurred after drilling of a confirmation well at the planned injection site. Key results of the CRA are that the probability of any emissions into the water column due to “leakage” of CO2 out of the storage complex is very low to negligible. Important arguments for this conclusion are (i) the hydraulic separation of the Johansen Formation from the shallower, depleted Viking Group, as attested by pressure data in the confirmation well, and (ii) the proven effectiveness of the seal to the Viking Group sandstones, which have accumulated and stored hydrocarbons over geological time. Further, any CO2 reaching and blending into the hydrocarbon accumulations nearby (such as the Troll Field) is regarded to also have very low probability. Storage Complex Monitoring (SCM) is an integral element of the CRA to enable mitigating actions in case of indications for unpredicted behaviour or “leakage” of the injected CO2.

Our research builds on existing literature examining institutional voids in emerging economies. Using data from two cases of mining FDI in Argentina, we conceptualize the triggers, processes and consequences of informal institution-building by a social movement. We found the cases to exhibit different ‘community sustainability orientations’, enabling two contrasting strategies, ‘bargaining’ and ‘gatekeeping’, to address the existing institutional void. This led to the development of new formal institutions – regulated CSR for the former and legal ban on mining operations for the latter case. Our study thus offers insights into the processes through which institutional entrepreneurship by social movements influences MNEs.

In many developing countries, multinational enterprises (MNEs) in mining operate alongside fast-growing communities of informal artisanal, small-scale miners. This has led to direct conflict and competition for mineral resources. This paper introduces the Salience and Institutional Analysis and Design framework as a means to analyze the MNE strategies used to address informal miners across different governance levels in the gold mining sector of Ghana and discusses the implications of these strategies for sustainability. We identify the emergence of a cooperative strategy with informal miners as a sustainable alternative to the political strategy of reliance on the state to protect tenure.

We challenge existing corporate sustainability theory by exploring how the concept of syncretism contributes new insights that may help us to reconsider the role of business agents in driving society towards a more sustainable future. The theoretical model distinguishes between 'syncretic missionaries' who preach a faith and 'syncretic believers' who are preached to. We draw upon the (hitherto disconnected) literatures on syncretism and corporate sustainability to define the critical role of missionaries and believers in business. Using analogical reasoning, we argue that business missionaries and believers are characterised by varying levels of (1) sensibility to sustainability issues and (2) capacity to open themselves to 'external' idea systems and viewpoints. The type of relationships that are developed amongst and between themselves is alleged to critically shape a firm's sustainability performance. The article ends with an outline of implications for the future of corporate sustainability theory, referring to theories and concepts recently developed in the field (i.e., organisational and institutional logics multiplicity, paradox perspective).

This study proposes a technology- organization- environment (TOE) theoretical framework of critical factors that influence the successful adoption of blockchain technologies in the freight logistics industry and prioritize them using the analytic network process (ANP). The research findings indicate that ‘availability of specific blockchain tools’, ‘infrastructural facility’, and ‘government policy and support’ are the three topmost ranked significant factors that influence the adoption of blockchains in the freight logistics industry. These findings will aid government agencies, freight logistics firms and blockchain service providers in strategizing for the advancement and successful adoption of blockchain and improvement of overall organizational competitiveness.

Political will at the national and multilateral scale is coalescing around the emerging discourse of Green Growth. The narratives and practices of Green Growth have already been rejected by many stakeholders as a reformulation of business as usual discourse. However, this article argues that this critique is grounded in a false conflation of distinct interpretations of the concept. In place of homogenising all associated narratives, we argue for an aspirational Critical Green Growth perspective, socially inclusive and conducive to structural transformation, incipiently identified in Asian national policies (i.e. Korea, and Japan) and the United Nations Environment Programme. Drawing on this background, and other development insights, we conduct a ‘backasting’ exercise to identify trajectories leading to this imagined future of Green Growth. We address a key gap in the literature, the lack of dialogue between Green Growth and Develomental State studies. We then argue for the importance of the Green Growth State (GGS) in introducing fundamental change in this critical window of opportunity. Elements of this overarching concept would include broad characteristics of: a flexible and diverse policy mix; multi-stakeholder, multi-level governance; public trust and collaboration; and appropriate measurements of progress discouraging commodification of nature.

Since the liberalisation of its investment regime in the 1990s, Argentina has seen a rise in foreign direct investment into large-scale exploration and exploitation of mineral resources. However, many social groups (local communities, grassroots movement and the church) often strongly oppose new mining projects on the grounds of environmental, ethical and economic concerns. In a situation marked by widespread conflict, mining companies continue operating and develop Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives which are often promoted as a means of contributing to the sustainability and development of the nation. The paper develops a framework to highlight how the principles of stakeholder theory could be used as conceptual and practical guidance for conflict-resolution oriented CSR policies. The framework is further used to analyse two case studies of conflictive mining projects in Argentina. The paper explores how key stakeholders perceive contribution of CSR to welfare and the socio-economic development of mining communities and sustainable development of the nation. It demonstrates that institutional and social stakeholder networks often strongly oppose the idea of voluntary self-regulation implied by CSR in situations characterised by weak governance. Even though the CSR of companies could be improved in areas of corporate communication, transparency, stakeholder engagement and dialogue, it is not seen as a panacea for the social conflicts in the sector. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.