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Can an oil extraction company also be a socially responsible company?

In response to the growing thickness of sustainable development reports from oil companies, there are countless convictions denouncing the involvement of this sector in environmental and social disasters.
In a context where oil demand could soon outstrip supply, the lack of easily accessible oil is forcing companies to exploit resources in more difficult and polluting conditions, such as oil sands, or in vulnerable areas like glaciers.
Companies are forced to seek oil where it is and that is often in economically and politically unstable areas where undemocratic governments use violence against their own population. Companies hide behind the lack of binding regulations and State failures to shirk their responsibility and to legitimise their bad practices. Kept away from production-sharing contracts, local people are being robbed of a wealth that is rightfully theirs.
This study aims to highlight the inconsistencies in the sector and to understand to what extent the extra-financial analysts and investors can apply pressure on industry players so that they adopt a responsible behaviour.

Telecommunications, a call for more responsibility (click to get the text below)

According to the International Telecommunication Union, 4.6 billion people were equipped with a mobile by the end of 2009: about two-thirds of the world population. Previously confined to developed countries, mobile phones have found a powerful source of growth in the poorest countries, where the fixed telephone network is often poorly developed or nonexistent. Thus in 2008, three out of four subscriptions were taken out in developing countries, against one out of four in 2000. 
Such a rapid diffusion does not come without impacts. Environmental impacts, both direct (manufacturing) and indirect (use, waste). A recent study estimates that the energy consumption of a one hour phone conversation is equivalent to that of a washing machine operating at 40 ° C. On a global level, CO₂ emissions in the sector accounted for just less than 1% of global emissions, a figure that is expected to remain stable by 2020. The telecommunications sector therefore has relatively little although not negligible impact, but holds enormous potential for reducing emissions of greenhouse gas emissions in other sectors (buildings and smart grids, video conferencing, telecommuting, etc…).

The Mining and Metallurgy Sector (click to get the text below)

3.5 billion people live in countries heavily dependent on mining activities : between 2000 and 2004, minerals accounted for more than 50% of the value of exports from Botswana, Guinea or Zambia. And mining and metallurgy are now ubiquitous in our daily lives: making a pair of spectacles requires limestone, feldspar, and sodium carbonate. The "green revolution" underway would not be possible without metals and minerals: hybrid vehicles derive their energy from nickel batteries, catalytic converters using cerium and palladium, and the design of wind turbines or solar panels is also very dependent on these activities. Demand in such commodities is diversifying and, as a consequence, growing.
But this sector is better known for the irreversible effects that its activities may have on the environment, on the health and safety of its employees, but also on local populations. Pollution due to particles emissions can be devastating. Pollutants can seep through the soil and permanently contaminate farmland and groundwater and have serious consequences on biodiversity and the health of local populations. Moreover, given the rising energy costs, water and energy scarcity in some regions, companies must rethink their business models and improve, for instance, the efficiency of their furnaces or ventilation systems, or optimise their energy mix. Thus, in order to ensure its sustainable development, the mining industry must find innovative solutions to economic and social development.

These documents can be downloaded directly from the funds factsheet.

These documents can be downloaded directly from the funds factsheet.