8.3 Engaging with the Government
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I think primarily [government] just being in the driver seat and also proactively asking
O&G companies the right questions about footprint, about aims for local communities and
creating and enabling environment for companies to do the right things for companies, for
communities. … [Governments] should very much set up right policy framework, fair tax
regime, and effective banking system for small enterprises, so this is one role. Secondly, as I
said, [governments should] ask companies right questions and making sure they [companies]
act and behave responsibly. (P3, social investment expert)
For P6, P10 and P3, the role of the government is key to effective O&G social
investment. They suggested that the government’s position may determine the success
or failure of the social investment project. These participants believed the government
should actively regulate and collaborate in companies’ delivery of social investment.
Not only did some participants report that the host country government should
support social investment, but also that social investment experts’ company peers
should support social investment practices. The following section explores participants’ recommendations for social investment practices in terms of how O&G
companies should engage internally with O&G company peers.
8.4 Engagement with Company Peers
The final recommendations offered by the participants came mostly from social
investment experts, and concerned social investment experts receiving support from
their own company peers. Social investment experts reported that their company
peers often failed to support O&G social investment. According to the participants,
this happened because O&G employees do not understand the benefits O&G social
investment can generate for the O&G business, as P10 articulates:
Social investment is a really important thing that is overlooked by everyone from rank and
file employees to shareholders and boards of directors. The good ones, they get it, and they
prioritise it and realise that even in an oil company where you’re making huge investments
sometimes it is really small or relatively small, six figure, sometimes, you know less figure,
less size investment can produce huge dividends if done well, and so they should be a part
of the company’s bottom-line that is given a lot of importance, a lot of attention, a lot of
support because the rewards can far outweigh the cost of the investment. (P10 O&G, expert)
P10 believed that O&G social investment, “if done well” (P10), could generate positive and important outcomes for companies. P10 drew on working around discourses
of social investment when s/he focussed on the benefits for O&G companies, rather
than the communities. However, P10 is saying that social investment has to be done
well. As such, s/he can also be read as working with discourses when imagining
social investment.
Not all participants drew on working around discourses to frame the support
of their O&G peers for social investment. P16 drew on working with discourses
when s/he, for example, assumed that O&G employees/shareholders should not be
solely worried about profit, but also about how communities were being impacted
by the company. S/he said, “to show [high executives] the company should not
123
I think primarily [government] just being in the driver seat and also proactively asking
O&G companies the right questions about footprint, about aims for local communities and
creating and enabling environment for companies to do the right things for companies, for
communities. … [Governments] should very much set up right policy framework, fair tax
regime, and effective banking system for small enterprises, so this is one role. Secondly, as I
said, [governments should] ask companies right questions and making sure they [companies]
act and behave responsibly. (P3, social investment expert)
For P6, P10 and P3, the role of the government is key to effective O&G social
investment. They suggested that the government’s position may determine the success
or failure of the social investment project. These participants believed the government
should actively regulate and collaborate in companies’ delivery of social investment.
Not only did some participants report that the host country government should
support social investment, but also that social investment experts’ company peers
should support social investment practices. The following section explores participants’ recommendations for social investment practices in terms of how O&G
companies should engage internally with O&G company peers.
8.4 Engagement with Company Peers
The final recommendations offered by the participants came mostly from social
investment experts, and concerned social investment experts receiving support from
their own company peers. Social investment experts reported that their company
peers often failed to support O&G social investment. According to the participants,
this happened because O&G employees do not understand the benefits O&G social
investment can generate for the O&G business, as P10 articulates:
Social investment is a really important thing that is overlooked by everyone from rank and
file employees to shareholders and boards of directors. The good ones, they get it, and they
prioritise it and realise that even in an oil company where you’re making huge investments
sometimes it is really small or relatively small, six figure, sometimes, you know less figure,
less size investment can produce huge dividends if done well, and so they should be a part
of the company’s bottom-line that is given a lot of importance, a lot of attention, a lot of
support because the rewards can far outweigh the cost of the investment. (P10 O&G, expert)
P10 believed that O&G social investment, “if done well” (P10), could generate positive and important outcomes for companies. P10 drew on working around discourses
of social investment when s/he focussed on the benefits for O&G companies, rather
than the communities. However, P10 is saying that social investment has to be done
well. As such, s/he can also be read as working with discourses when imagining
social investment.
Not all participants drew on working around discourses to frame the support
of their O&G peers for social investment. P16 drew on working with discourses
when s/he, for example, assumed that O&G employees/shareholders should not be
solely worried about profit, but also about how communities were being impacted
by the company. S/he said, “to show [high executives] the company should not