Changing Corporate Behaviour

The report analyzes the Save Mapungubwe Coalition's five-year campaign against Coal of Africa's Vele Colliery project in South Africa. It details how a combination of strategic litigation, which impacted the company's share price, and eventual participation in the project's Environmental Management Committee (EMC) provided leverage to hold the company accountable. The study concludes that diverse coalitions and community pressure are essential for changing corporate behavior, while warning against corporate 'divide and rule' tactics and the risks of superficial project planning.

• The Save Mapungubwe Coalition utilized a three-pronged strategy—litigation, bilateral negotiations, and multilateral engagement—to challenge the Vele Colliery project by Coal of Africa (CoAL), an Australian mining company. The project threatened the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and local water security.
• Litigation served as a critical source of leverage for the Coalition, even when it did not provide the immediate relief sought. It caused reputational harm and financial impact, specifically contributing to a downward trajectory in CoAL's Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) share price since 2010 due to highlighted non-compliance with environmental law.
• Bilateral negotiations between the Coalition and CoAL broke down after it was revealed that CoAL had withheld material information, leading the Coalition to withdraw from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
• The Coalition achieved a precedent in corporate governance by gaining full membership of the Vele Colliery Environmental Management Committee (EMC) on 31 October 2012. This marked the first time civil society held a seat on such a body, eventually leading to a Coalition representative, Lisa Chamberlain of CALS, being nominated as Chair of the main EMC in August 2013.
• Vele Colliery faced a temporary production halt for 18 months starting in June 2013. This was caused by a combination of factors: the coal was of a lower grade than expected (unsuitable for coking), the associated Mulilo power station project stalled, global thermal coal prices remained low, and the company faced litigation and enforcement actions from the DEA and DWA.
• The report identifies 'divide and rule' tactics as a common corporate strategy used by mining companies to fragment affected communities and subvert independent community organisations to prevent the emergence of strong, unified opposition.
• The document argues that the prevailing public discourse in South Africa often incorrectly frames environmental protection as 'anti-development' or elitist. It suggests civil society must reframe this by demonstrating that long-term economic development depends on the preservation of critical ecosystem services, such as water.
• The Coalition benefited from a 'dual legal representation model' involving the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) and the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER). This approach allowed for the pooling of limited resources and the combination of different forms of legal expertise.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2014). Changing Corporate Behaviour. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Changing-corporate-behaviour-The-Mapungubwe-case-study.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Changing Corporate Behaviour. 2014. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Changing-corporate-behaviour-The-Mapungubwe-case-study.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Changing Corporate Behaviour |date=1 February 2014 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Changing-corporate-behaviour-The-Mapungubwe-case-study.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2014changing, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Changing Corporate Behaviour}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Changing-corporate-behaviour-The-Mapungubwe-case-study.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }