Conflict-Sensitive Business Practice: Towards the Integration of Conflict Assessment and Prevention in Extractive Industry Practice

This research paper, authored by Rachel Goldwyn and Jason Switzer, critiques existing impact assessment tools used by the extractive industry—specifically Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), Social Impact Assessments (SIA), and political risk analysis—from a conflict-sensitive perspective. It argues that while these tools are standard, they often fail to identify or mitigate the drivers of violent conflict. The authors propose the development of a Conflict-Sensitive Business Practice (CSBP) toolbox to integrate conflict analysis into the project lifecycle, helping companies minimize their contribution to violence and contribute to peacebuilding.

• Extractive sector companies are increasingly operating in 'frontier areas' and politically unstable regions due to the exhaustion of easily accessible resources in OECD countries, which increases the risk of corporate involvement in violent conflict.
• Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are widely mandated by national laws in approximately 100 nations and are often a requirement for accessing project finance from international financial institutions and the Equator Principles banks.
• Standard EIAs are frequently criticized for being pro-project biased, lacking independent review, and failing to integrate across the entire project cycle, particularly regarding closure and site restoration.
• Social Impact Assessments (SIA) often rely on 'technocratic' expert-driven approaches that may exclude community values and fail to account for the subjective meaning of change or internal community divisions such as class, gender, and caste.
• Political risk analysis is typically a confidential internal tool used by companies to evaluate how political environments affect project goals, employing methods such as scenario forecasting, expert discussion groups, and the RISQUE method.
• Conflict-Sensitive Approaches (CSAs) in the development and humanitarian sectors have evolved to avoid 'feeding' conflict, as seen in historical cases where aid in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sri Lanka inadvertently exacerbated tensions or supported militias.
• The proposed Conflict-Sensitive Business Practice (CSBP) toolbox aims to fill gaps in private sector practice by integrating conflict analysis tools—such as conflict mapping and stakeholder analysis—into the project lifecycle to identify root causes, triggers, and peacebuilding opportunities.
• Certain project phases and activities are identified as 'flashpoints' for conflict, specifically project-related displacement, resettlement, construction, and closure, where rapid changes in financial flows and staffing can trigger violence.

APA

Goldwyn, R., & Switzer, J. (2004). Conflict-Sensitive Business Practice: Towards the Integration of Conflict Assessment and Prevention in Extractive Industry Practice. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_ogel_2004.pdf

Chicago

Goldwyn, R., and J. Switzer. Conflict-Sensitive Business Practice: Towards the Integration of Conflict Assessment and Prevention in Extractive Industry Practice. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2004. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_ogel_2004.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Goldwyn |first1=R. |last2=Switzer |first2=J. |title=Conflict-Sensitive Business Practice: Towards the Integration of Conflict Assessment and Prevention in Extractive Industry Practice |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=October 2004 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_ogel_2004.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{goldwyn2004conflictsensitive, author = {Goldwyn, R. and Switzer, J.}, title = {{Conflict-Sensitive Business Practice: Towards the Integration of Conflict Assessment and Prevention in Extractive Industry Practice}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2004}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_ogel_2004.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }