Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Senegal and West Africa

In 2009, the Government of Canada announced its CSR Strategy for the Canadian extractive sector operating abroad. The "Building the Canadian Advantage Strategy" includes four main pillars: 1) support for host country resource governance capacity-building initiatives; 2) endorsement and promotion of widely-recognized international CSR performance guidelines; 3) support for the development of a CSR Centre of Excellence; and 4) the creation of the Office of the Extractive Sector CSR Counsellor.

CSR is integral to long-term business growth and success, and it also plays an important role in promoting Canadian values internationally and contributing to the sustainable development of communities.

In an effort to foster and promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) at home and abroad, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade encourages Canadian embassies, consulates, high commissions, regional offices and headquarters divisions to undertake CSR initiatives by providing them with a dedicated source of support.

On October 12, 2012, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the creation of a regional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) network that will operate out of Canada’s mission in Senegal.

The initiative, which will link existing Canadian-sponsored CSR networks in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, will facilitate dialogue on standards and best practices in the extractive sector among Canadian and West African stakeholders in industry, government and civil society, while enhancing Canadian companies’ ability to manage social and environmental risks in the international extractive sector.  

This initiative is in keeping with the goals of Canada’s CSR Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector, Building the Canadian Advantage, by which Canada seeks to enhance the competitiveness of the extractive sector and broaden the significant local development benefits that investments can bring to a community and a country. In order to achieve these goals, Canada also works with host governments to enhance their capacity to manage their own natural resources for economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Canada is a leader in the promotion of CSR standards in Senegal and West Africa. Ongoing Canadian government and private sector engagement on CSR is best exemplified by a number of collaborative efforts including:

• our partnership with CSR Senegal, a locally-based private organization that works to promote sustainable development through government and private sector collaboration in CSR;
• our support for the International CSR Dakar Forum 2012, one of the premiere CSR events in Africa; and,
• our support for the launch of the new Senegalese National CSR Charter, which is intended to serve as a frame of reference for good CSR practices and a practical guide for implementation of CSR initiatives.

During his visit to Senegal, Prime Minister Harper also endorsed a series of initiatives undertaken by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) that will promote corporate social responsibility. Among them are the launch of CIM’s first African branch office in Dakar and others in the region followed by a commitment to host CIM’s first African gold symposium in Dakar on November 3, 2012. CIM will also assist in the creation of the Institut minier Ouest africain in collaboration with partners in West Africa. This initiative will assist West African efforts to increase technical and professional training in the private and public sectors, to support local supply chains and to promote best practices in the extractive sector.

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