342
W. Karanja and N. Njenga
stakeholders.
1 Although mostly common in the extractive industry, SLO
is relevant in other energy sectors including renewables. Following the
adoption of the 2015 Paris Agreement, many countries across the globe
are embracing clean energy sources such as renewables as a way of not
only tackling energy access challenges but also climate change.
2 Nevertheless, with the anticipated industrialization and urbanization in Africa,
the oil and gas sector still has a crucial role to play on the African continent and as such concepts such as SLO ought to be given much attention
in this energy transition era.
3 Additionally, the principles concerning
SLO in the oil and gas sector are also relevant to clean energy such as
renewables. In this respect therefore a discussion on SLO in the oil and
gas sector is relevant to clean energy sources such as solar and wind.
Basically, SLO is defined as an intangible, informal and nonpermanent right wielded by the community of relevant stakeholders.
4
This right may be granted, withdrawn or subject to change as new
information about the project is acquired. It is usually granted on a
project-specific basis, meaning that a company may have a social licence
for one operation but not for another. The SLO must, therefore, be
earned and then maintained. Earning an SLO often involves building
social capital over time in a process that is also known as ‘community
building’, ‘capacity building’ and ‘institutional strengthening’.
Generally, it may be considered as a two-tier right. At the lower level
of acceptance, the consent granted is sufficient to allow a project to
1 “The Social Licence to Operate”. 2019. Socialicense.Com. https://socialicense.com/definition.
html.
Robert G Boutilier and Ian Thomson, ‘The Social License to Operate’ (Socialicense.com,
2018). https://socialicense.com/definition.html, accessed May 27, 2020.
2 Nalule, V.R., 2018. Energy Poverty and Access Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of
Regionalism. Springer.
3 Nalule, V.R., 2020. Transitioning to a Low Carbon Economy: Is Africa Ready to Bid Farewell
to Fossil Fuels? In The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions
(pp. 261–286). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
4 Boutilier, Robert G., and Ian Thomson. 2019. Modelling and Measuring the Social Licence
to Operate: Fruits of a Dialogue Between Theory and Practice. https://socialicense.com/public
ations/Modelling%20and%20Measuring%20the%20SLO.pdf.
Robert G. Boutilier and Ian Thomson, ‘Modelling and Measuring the Social License to
Operate: Fruits OF a Dialogue Between Theory and Practice’ (Socialicense.com). https://soc
ialicense.com/publications/Modelling%20and%20Measuring%20the%20SLO.pdf, accessed May
27, 2020.
W. Karanja and N. Njenga
stakeholders.
1 Although mostly common in the extractive industry, SLO
is relevant in other energy sectors including renewables. Following the
adoption of the 2015 Paris Agreement, many countries across the globe
are embracing clean energy sources such as renewables as a way of not
only tackling energy access challenges but also climate change.
2 Nevertheless, with the anticipated industrialization and urbanization in Africa,
the oil and gas sector still has a crucial role to play on the African continent and as such concepts such as SLO ought to be given much attention
in this energy transition era.
3 Additionally, the principles concerning
SLO in the oil and gas sector are also relevant to clean energy such as
renewables. In this respect therefore a discussion on SLO in the oil and
gas sector is relevant to clean energy sources such as solar and wind.
Basically, SLO is defined as an intangible, informal and nonpermanent right wielded by the community of relevant stakeholders.
4
This right may be granted, withdrawn or subject to change as new
information about the project is acquired. It is usually granted on a
project-specific basis, meaning that a company may have a social licence
for one operation but not for another. The SLO must, therefore, be
earned and then maintained. Earning an SLO often involves building
social capital over time in a process that is also known as ‘community
building’, ‘capacity building’ and ‘institutional strengthening’.
Generally, it may be considered as a two-tier right. At the lower level
of acceptance, the consent granted is sufficient to allow a project to
1 “The Social Licence to Operate”. 2019. Socialicense.Com. https://socialicense.com/definition.
html.
Robert G Boutilier and Ian Thomson, ‘The Social License to Operate’ (Socialicense.com,
2018). https://socialicense.com/definition.html, accessed May 27, 2020.
2 Nalule, V.R., 2018. Energy Poverty and Access Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of
Regionalism. Springer.
3 Nalule, V.R., 2020. Transitioning to a Low Carbon Economy: Is Africa Ready to Bid Farewell
to Fossil Fuels? In The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions
(pp. 261–286). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
4 Boutilier, Robert G., and Ian Thomson. 2019. Modelling and Measuring the Social Licence
to Operate: Fruits of a Dialogue Between Theory and Practice. https://socialicense.com/public
ations/Modelling%20and%20Measuring%20the%20SLO.pdf.
Robert G. Boutilier and Ian Thomson, ‘Modelling and Measuring the Social License to
Operate: Fruits OF a Dialogue Between Theory and Practice’ (Socialicense.com). https://soc
ialicense.com/publications/Modelling%20and%20Measuring%20the%20SLO.pdf, accessed May
27, 2020.