Search Climate Insights Directory

The report documents systemic environmental and health failures at Shell facilities in South Africa, the USA, the Philippines, Nigeria, Brazil, Curaçao, and Russia. It argues that Shell's commitment to sustainable development is a public relations exercise designed to mask pollution, human rights abuses, and the circumvention of local laws. The authors call for a reform of UK company law to establish a legal 'duty of care' for directors regarding their global social and environmental impacts, moving beyond voluntary CSR frameworks.

Derek Cabe describes the devastating impact of super-typhoons in the Philippines and advocates for legal accountability for major fossil fuel corporations. He highlights the findings of the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights, which linked carbon pollution to human rights violations, and calls for the protection of land and environmental defenders who face violence and 'red-tagging' while opposing coal-fired power plants.

The report argues that the ITES sector has missed previous opportunities to drive sustainable development and must now adopt an 'Outsourcing 3.0' model. This framework moves beyond simple cost-cutting (Outsourcing 1.0) and high-value job relocation (Outsourcing 2.0) toward a model where companies, cities, and countries compete responsibly. The authors identify six drivers for this transition: creating a responsible business climate, smart philanthropy at the base-of-the-pyramid, building talent, improving business standards and compliance, fostering product and service innovation (such as 'tribesourcing'), and contributing to low-carbon prosperity. The report emphasizes that the 2009 economic downturn provides a critical window to reset the industry's approach to corporate social responsibility and environmental impact.

The paper finds that while low Human Development Index (HDI) levels predict aid for excluded group-majority provinces, overall aid distribution is significantly biased in favour of the politically dominant Christian lowlanders. Previous exposure to armed conflict increases the likelihood of new projects only in Christian-majority provinces, and previous disaster exposure is a weak, sometimes negative, predictor of aid across all provinces.