Enabling Corporate Investment in Peace

The report evaluates the current state of voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives addressing business operations in violent conflict zones. It identifies significant gaps in knowledge, stakeholder consensus, and participation from developing countries. The authors argue that while some guidance exists—particularly for the extractive sector—it is largely policy-based rather than operational. The document provides a framework for governments to move beyond simple compliance toward a 'peacebuilding' approach, suggesting roles for the public sector such as mandating legal baselines, facilitating research, and endorsing best practices to strengthen the enabling environment for conflict-sensitive investment.

• Voluntary initiatives addressing business and violent conflict are currently underdeveloped and not yet mainstream in the CSR debate; most existing codes only indirectly address 'conflict drivers' through general provisions on human rights or the environment.
• There are three primary gaps hindering the development of comprehensive guidance: a 'knowledge gap' regarding field-tested responses and the role of non-extractive sectors, a 'consensus gap' among polarized stakeholders on appropriate norms, and a 'participation gap' due to limited engagement from stakeholders in developing countries.
• Existing guidance is heavily skewed toward the extractive industries (oil, gas, and mining), leaving other sectors with significant conflict footprints, such as finance, construction, and textiles, largely ignored.
• Public sector actors can influence corporate behavior in conflict zones through four primary roles: mandating minimum legal baselines, partnering in action research, facilitating the development of management tools, and endorsing best practices or shaming poor performers.
• Corporate engagement in conflict zones can be categorized into three levels of commitment: simple legal compliance, a 'do no harm' approach to minimize impacts, and a 'peacebuilding' approach to maximize positive contributions to peace.
• Standard environmental and social impact assessments are insufficient for identifying conflict-specific risks, leading to the development of specialized tools like the International Alert-IISD Conflict Risk and Impact Assessment toolkit.
• The financial sector possesses significant leverage to drive conflict sensitivity through 'know your customer' checks, conditions on project finance, and shareholder activism.

APA

Switzer, J., & Ward, H. (2004). Enabling Corporate Investment in Peace. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_corp_investment.pdf

Chicago

Switzer, Jason, and Halina Ward. Enabling Corporate Investment in Peace. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2004. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_corp_investment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Switzer |first1=Jason |last2=Ward |first2=Halina |title=Enabling Corporate Investment in Peace |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2004 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_corp_investment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{switzer2004enabling, author = {Switzer, Jason and Ward, Halina}, title = {{Enabling Corporate Investment in Peace}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2004}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/envsec_corp_investment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }