This article was published in the RSE Mine Magazine issue N°04-05 Dec.2022 – Jan. 202 of the RSE Forum.
The journal is available at this link: The new issue of RSE Mine Magazine is available | Mines Actu Burkina
Here is the article
In April 2022, the Canadian government launched a new CSR strategy based on the concept of responsible business conduct (RBC). This strategy reinforces the foundation of initiatives that have made the Canadian business model famous internationally. Indeed, Canadian companies are often held up as examples wherever they operate. They are generally recognised as good corporate citizens who apply the highest standards in their sector, in the case of Burkina Faso, the mining sector. Let’s take a look at Canadian initiatives to promote CSR in Burkina Faso.
Canada is certainly a forerunner in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Burkina Faso. Various initiatives have been driven by Canada through its cooperation agencies and by mining companies that apply sustainability norms and standards specific to the Canadian business model.
The establishment of a CSR ecosystem in Burkina
The promotion of CSR has always been a constant concern for the Canadian government. As early as 2012, in response to the mining boom in Burkina Faso and the emerging debate on sustainable development issues in the mining sector, the Canadian Embassy played a major role in the establishment of the multi-stakeholder Forum for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR Forum). Inspired by a Canadian model, the Devonshire Initiative, the CSR Forum is a framework for dialogue between mining companies and NGOs on sustainable development issues in the mining sector. Among the founding members of the CSR Forum were Canadian mining companies such as IAMGOLD Essakane, SEMAFO and NGOs such as Plan Burkina, Save the Children, etc. The 2IE Institute acted as a facilitator. From its beginning, the CSR Forum served as a basis for capitalising on the Developing Youth Capacities (DCAJ) programme. This five-year project (2011-2016), worth a total of 7.5 million Canadian dollars (about 3.5 billion CFA francs), financed by the Canadian International Development Agency (now World Affairs Canada) in collaboration with Plan Canada and IAMGOLD, has enabled the training and integration into the labour market of 8,000 young Burkinabè from non-formal basic education centres (CEBNFs) in the Centre[1]North and South-West regions of Burkina Faso. Mamadou Ouattara, Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy in Burkina Faso tells us some of the highlights that followed these initial steps: “In 2017, we accompanied the Chamber of Mines of Burkina Faso in the organisation of a workshop on harmonising the understanding of the concept of CSR in Burkina Faso. This workshop, preceded by a reference study, brought together all the stakeholders in the mining sector to discuss and agree on the contours of the concept of CSR”. He also recalls “the organisation of two workshops on the Voluntary Principles on Human Rights (UN-VP) and on the role and place of women in the West African mining sector[1] on the sidelines of the West African Mining Week (SAMAO) in September 2019”. Also in the context of strengthening the CSR ecosystem in Burkina and more recently, in November 2022, the Trade Commissioner Service organised in partnership with the CSR Forum an information and experience sharing workshop on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC).
The workshop was used to present the new CRE strategy to mining sector stakeholders with a view to providing a Canadian perspective on responsible business conduct and to present the Canadian government’s priorities for supporting Canadian companies operating abroad.
Promoting the integration of Burkinabè SMEs into the mining supply chain
The Canadian Embassy has been a major player in promoting the local supply of mining goods and services in Burkina. In this regard, Canada has supported the creation of the Burkina Faso Alliance of Suppliers of Mining Goods and Services (ABSM) with other actors such as the Chamber of Mines, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso and IAMGOLD Essakane SA. Through the support to the creation of the ABSM, the Embassy has organised regular trade missions of Burkinabe mining suppliers to Canada to promote business contacts between Burkinabe mining suppliers and Canadian mining equipment and service providers. These business contacts have been instrumental in facilitating the transfer of knowledge and know-how[1] as well as the sharing of experience on mining industry standards. Support for the ABSM has remained constant over the years. Thus, the ABSM benefited from Canada’s support for the establishment of a mining suppliers’ platform in 2018, not to mention the implementation of several capacity-building programmes for Burkinabe SMEs by Canadian organisations.
Strengthening governance and inclusion
Recognising the importance of the mining sector to Burkina Faso, Canada has been involved in strengthening public governance of the sector and improving the socio-economic benefits of the extractive sector for communities, particularly women and youth. This has been done respectively through the Extractive Industries Monitoring Improvement Project (PASIE), which has worked mainly in Burkina Faso with the Court of Auditors, and the Support for Governance and Sustainable Economic Growth in the Extractive Sector project, particularly for communities in the Boucle du Mouhoun and Hauts[1]Bassins regions. Canada has a long-standing commitment to women’s empowerment through its international assistance. The Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) adopted in 2017 has positioned Canada as a champion of gender equality in its international aid programming. It is in this dynamic that the Canadian Embassy in Burkina Faso organised, in collaboration with the Association of Mining Women of Burkina (AFEMIB), a workshop on the role and place of women in the Burkinabe mining sector in March 2019 and facilitated the participation of AFEMIB members in the 2nd edition of the Promotional Days for the Local Supply of Mining Goods and Services held in Bobo in October 2020.
Public-private partnerships to strengthen local development in extractive areas As part of their social responsibility, some Canadian mining companies have carried out joint projects with the Canadian government. These include the construction and commissioning of a water treatment plant for the people of the Sahel, in particular the commune of Dori, through the Water and Sustainable Economic Growth in the Sahel (ECED-Sahel) project with a significant contribution from IAMGOLD. This project, with a total cost of 17.4 million Canadian dollars (8 billion FCFA), was co-financed by Global Affairs Canada (6 billion FCFA), the One Drop Foundation (1 billion FCFA) and the mining company IAMGOLD (1 billion FCFA). Implemented over 5 years (2015-2022), the infrastructure built under the ECED Sahel project now covers the drinking water needs of the population of Dori and 13 surrounding villages, i.e. approximately 60,000 people. And not to stop there, Mrs Lee-Anne Hermann, Canada’s ambassador to Burkina confides: “the second phase of this project has been approved by Canada for 30 million CAD (more than 14 billion FCFA), once again with the participation of IAMGOLD, with a view to extending drinking water services among many other actions planned for the communes of Gorom-Gorom and Falangoutou”. The same applies to the ECED[1] Mouhoun – Energy and Sustainable Economic Growth in the Boucle du Mouhoun project, where the mining company SEMAFO worked alongside Canada and other local partners such as the Burkinabe Rural Electrification Agency and SONABEL to strengthen an environment conducive to electrification and the associated economic development. As for the mining company ROXGOLD Sanu, which is now owned by the Canadian group Fortuna Silver Mines and which operates the Yaramoko gold mine, in the commune of Bagassi it has collaborated in a major project to support governance and sustainable economic growth in the extractive sector (AGCEDE). This programme was implemented over six years (2016-2022), jointly by the non-governmental organisations World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), both Canadian NGOs. Implemented in Burkina Faso in two provinces, the AGCEDE project has reached seven (07) communes (Houndé, Béréba, Békuy, Boni, Bagassi, Koumbia and Pompoi) and two (02) villages in the commune of Boromo (Koho and Ouahabou).
These various initiatives, without being exhaustive, provide information on the Canadian business model, which openly associates corporate social responsibility with development cooperation policy. A model that is well appreciated by civil society active in the mining sector in Burkina Faso. In 2021, at the workshop on the economic and social impact of Canadian mining investments in Burkina Faso, sponsored by the Canadian Embassy, mining sector stakeholders expressed their satisfaction and encouraged Canada to strengthen this dynamic so that the impacts of these major investments would have a greater impact on local populations. The new strategy of responsible business conduct (RBC) comes at the right time to continue the adventure in the country of the men of integrity.
Synthesis Elie Kabore
