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Submission To Opic On Revisions To Its Environmental And Social Policy Statement, Kaitlin Y. Cordes
Submission To Opic On Revisions To Its Environmental And Social Policy Statement, Kaitlin Y. Cordes
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
In November 2016, CCSI sent a submission to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) regarding its draft revised Environmental and Social Policy Statement (ESPS). CCSI’s input focused on two discrete issues that CCSI has been working on: (1) contract transparency for natural resource and infrastructure projects, and (2) redress for harms in the context of project abandonment or failure. The submission urged OPIC to add into the ESPS a requirement that Applicants involved in natural resource or infrastructure projects commit to publicly disclosing any investor-state contracts related to the underlying Project. CCSI’s submission also suggested that OPIC incorporate into the …
Transparency In Land-Based Investment: Key Questions And Next Steps, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment
Transparency In Land-Based Investment: Key Questions And Next Steps, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications
Large-scale investments in agriculture and forestry are often shrouded in secrecy. In many cases, they are negotiated without the involvement of affected communities, approved through opaque decision-making procedures, and governed by legal agreements that are difficult both to access and to understand. This systemic lack of transparency impedes accountability and exacerbates ongoing disagreements about the real costs and benefits for investors, host countries, and their citizens.
Jointly authored by CCSI and the Open Contracting Partnership, this briefing note examines why contract disclosure and a contracting process that is open, accessible, and inclusive are important; what such transparency entails; and how …