Social License to Operate in Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is a resource that has the potential for development in many countries around the world. Despite its versatility and economic viability, this resource faces numerous obstacles that hinder its deployment and capacity for achieving a similar market share as other renewable and clean energy sources. Both technical and non-technical barriers can be highly detrimental to the implementation of geothermal projects. A social license to operate (SLO) is a tool that can help the deployment of geothermal energy. As a new concept, SLO is little developed in the business literature but is still being adopted in many industries. Its main challenges reside in its context-dependence and the lack of clear frameworks to utilize it. This paper introduces, in a first known attempt, through a qualitative approach, a conceptual model of the social license to operate in the geothermal energy sector. For its development, three case studies, working group discussion and surveying were conducted in the framework of the H2020 funded CROWDTHERMAL project, which aims to empower EU citizens for direct participation in geothermal projects through crowdfunding. Findings of this paper also drew on existing general conceptual models of the SLO, and experiences from other sectors that have developed their own SLO models. The paper contributes to a more contextualized understanding of the social license within the geothermal sector and sheds the light on practices and challenges that influence the acquisition and maintenance of SLO in geothermal energy projects and initiatives.

The Unwritten License: The Social License to Operate in Latin America's Extractive Sector

The Latin America and the Caribbean region has benefited significantly from economic growth driven by the extractive sector. At the same time, the region has experienced high levels of conflicts related to this sector. This paper presents an overview of citizens' perceptions of the extractive industries in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Using a representative sample for each country, we identify regional and country-specific determinants of the Social License to Operate (SLO). The SLO is an unwritten license of social approval accorded to extractive projects by citizens. In this paper, we investigate a generalized version of the SLO, capturing public sentiment toward the mining and the oil and gas sectors in general. While our findings confirm that perceptions vary across countries, we show that governance is the strongest predictor of trust between citizens and the extractive sector, which is consistent with the evidence in the literature. In addition, procedural justice, distributive justice, and nationalism play essential roles in shaping individuals' attitudes. These findings suggest that strengthening government institutions could contribute to the prevention of conflict around extractive industries.

Globetrotting adventures in digital data governance and ethics

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper formulates a framework for managing data ethically – which incorporates data governance – for tourism and hospitality organizations (THOs). The framework encourages THOs, like Airbnb and Booking.com, to move beyond mere compliance and into ethical trust-building among their customer communities. This creates the social license needed to overcome controversial challenges like data breaches, and the invasion of COVID passports and other civil liberty restrictions that impact the travel sector. A privacy framework balancing customer and THO interests rests on four pillars: Compliance, Privacy and ethics, Equitable exchanges of data, and Social license to operate. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

139 Disinformation and Scientific Integrity: The Bad Stuff Is Easier to Believe

The sensational nature of disinformation attracts millions of readers and attention is a scarce resource. And because it attracts the masses, it can be used to undermine or target science and – ultimately – used for monetary gain. How this is done, in practice, is less understood. This presentation provides insights into how we can better understand how this is done through data analysis. We utilize a dataset of ~95,000 unique online articles to evaluate and explore the various tactics that contribute to the evolving disinformation narratives. We are interested in both the who and the how of (dis)information; what incentivizes it and the behavioral responses to it (in terms of reads, “clicks,” links) over time. We are also interested in how key events can trigger drops or spikes in engagements around particular topics. Distortion of science in online (social media) spaces inappropriately raises the risk profile of good technologies which results in delays in getting socially vital products to the market, or shelved or unrealized innovations, and even the loss of important research through vandalization of field trials. Disinformation has been used to problematize science, influencing public opinion, affecting scientific integrity, and impeding science’s social license to operate. This, in turn, results in policies developed based on disinformation rather than scientific evidence. The disinformation landscape needs to be better understood across science, food production and security, and public health. Key words: disinformation, misinformation, attention economy