BSR Insight Articles About Economic Development

Operating Locally: BSR’s Three-Step Approach to Delivering Lasting Value

Michael Oxman, Director, Advisory Services

Leading energy and extractive companies continue to develop new approaches to ensuring benefits to local communities and other key stakeholders from large capital projects and ongoing operations. These benefits include economic opportunities such as employment and the procurement of goods and services from local suppliers as well as benefits from social investments in education, health, and other community areas of need. Read more →

Posted: March 29, 2011 | Topics: Community Engagement & Development, Economic Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Energy, Human Rights, Mining, Strategy & Integration, Supply Chain

Stories From the Field

Interview with Richard Feinberg, Professor, University of California, San Diego, by Terry Nelidov, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR

Terry Nelidov, project manager of BSR's DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiveness Project, recently talked with University of California, San Diego Professor Richard Feinberg, a senior advisor to the project, about his insights gained from developing the case studies for it in BSR’s new compendium “Stories From the Field.” In excerpts below from the conversation, Professor Feinberg highlights both overall learnings from the three-year project and practical tools that companies anywhere in the world can apply to their labor and competitiveness strategies. Read more →

Posted: March 21, 2011 | Topics: Community Engagement & Development, Consumer Products, Economic Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Governance & Accountability, Human Rights, Information & Communications Technology, Stakeholder Relations, Strategy & Integration, Supply Chain

Closing the Gender Gap in Agriculture

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization released a new report on the business case for addressing gender issues in agriculture and rural employment. According to the report, women in all regions face gender-related constraints that reduce their productivity and impose real costs on society. Read more →

Posted: March 8, 2011 | Topics: Economic Development, Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Strategy & Integration, Supply Chain, Women & Sustainability

Women and Sustainability: Integrating Women Into Your Business and Sustainability Strategies

Racheal Meiers (née Yeager), Director, HERproject

Growth in women’s income, education levels, and labor participation rates makes them essential participants in the global economy, and engagement with women and girls increasingly critical to sustainable growth for every industry. Women contribute to the private sector’s social license to operate; market, crop, and supply chain stability; a talented and stable employee base; and market growth and innovation. Additionally, investments in women have a multiplier effect, as women are more likely to reinvest in education, health, and economic activities at the community level. Read more →

Posted: March 8, 2011 | Topics: Consumer Products, Economic Development, Energy, Financial Services, Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Health Care, Information & Communications Technology, Media & Entertainment, Mining, Supply Chain, Sustainable Consumption, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, Women & Sustainability