Caitlin McElroy

Bio: Caitlin McElroy is an academic researcher from University of Oxford. The author has contributed to research in topics: Corporate social responsibility & Air conditioning. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 8 publications receiving 85 citations.

Cooling for sustainable development

Abstract: The unprecedented rise in cooling demand globally is a critical blind spot in sustainability debates. We examine cooling as a system comprised of active and passive measures, with key social and technical components, and explain its link to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We propose an analytical and solution-oriented framework to identify and shape interventions towards sustainable cooling. The framework comprehends demand drivers; cradle-to-cradle stages; and system change levers. By intersecting cooling stages and levers, we discuss four specific, exemplary interventions to deliver sustainable cooling. We propose an agenda for research and practice to transition towards sustainable cooling for all. Demand for cooling is expected to increase globally. To deliver sustainable cooling beyond energy-intensive technological solutions, a comprehensive analytical framework and research agenda are proposed.

The potential to reduce the risks posed by tailings dams using satellite-based information

Abstract: The failures of tailings dams, used to store waste from mining operations, pose a significant risk to the health of people and the environment, especially in many low income countries where the extractive industry makes a significant contribution to the nation's wealth. Recently the rate of failure of tailings dams has increased. The demand for raw materials and increases in intense rainfall as a result of climate change will exacerbate this issue in the future. The monitoring of tailings dams is essential to reduce their probability of failure. Virtually all the recent tailings dams failures were preventable. However, there is generally a lack of transparency and accountability for these structures by mining companies. In the past 10 years an increase in the global coverage and accuracy of Earth Observation (EO) based information has made it technically possible to use EO-based data to remotely monitor critical aspects of tailings dams, such as their deformation and the leakage of pollutants. This paper describes the development of an EO-based service, being piloted in Peru, which would allow tailings dams to be monitored cost effectively, and also help to forecast any potentially risk inducing behaviour from tailings dams several weeks in advance. Many regulatory bodies in low income countries do not have the resources to adequately monitor mining operations. A low cost EO-based system could improve the transparency and safety of tailings dams, allowing timely preventative interventions to be made where the probability of failure is found to be high.

Corporate foundations in the mining industry: the relationship between responsible investment and social investment

Abstract: This article explores the relationship between responsible investment (RI) initiatives in capital markets and lending institutions, and the performance of social investment as a specific form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the mining industry. It focuses on how the nature of institutional investment initiatives encourages certain organizational structures for CSR activities. The argument is developed by exploring an inherent conflict between the business case motivations for CSR as promoted by RI initiatives, and the legitimacy of CSR activities being based on their performance-fulfilling normative CSR values. Corporate foundations in the mining industry provide the empirical context for examination. These organizations distribute the benefits of mining operations through social investment. They are – interestingly – both connected to their sponsoring mining firms and yet self-governed. The organizational form of corporate foundations works as a strategic response to RI initiatives because th...

Company–community agreements in the mining sector

Abstract: Purpose The chapter describes the phenomenon of company–community agreements in the mining sector, situates them relative to two veins of responsible investment activity, and assesses whether they might serve as a proxy for the “community relations” expectations of responsible investors. Findings Based on an evaluation of two recent company–community agreements and surveying of executives from mining firms that have signed agreements with Indigenous communities, it was found that: (1) though imperfect as a proxy for many of the “community relations” expectations of responsible investors, company–community agreements offer benefits and make provisions that exceed current expectations, especially with respect to the recognition of the right of Indigenous communities to offer their free, prior, and informed consent to mine developments; and (2) mining executives recognize the utility of agreement-making with communities, and are comfortable with such efforts being interpreted as recognition of the right of Indigenous communities to consent to development. Social implications The chapter serves to introduce responsible investors to the emergence of company–community agreements in the global mining sector, and calls upon them to advocate for their further use in order to reduce the riskiness of their investments, address social justice concerns, and assist communities to visualize and realize their goals. Originality/value of chapter For the first time, the growing phenomenon of company–community agreements in the mining sector is situated within responsible investment scholarship. Additionally, drawing on both logic and evidence, the chapter challenges the responsible investment community to rethink its approach to screening and engaging the mining sector in order to advance the interests of Indigenous communities.

Globalizing regional development: aglobal production networks perspective

Abstract: Recent literature concerning regional development has placed significant emphasis on local institutional structures and their capacity to ‘hold down’ the global. Conversely, work on inter-firm networks – such as the global commodity chain approach – has highlighted the significance of the organizational structures of global firms’ production systems and their relation to industrial upgrading. In this paper, drawing upon a global production networks perspective, we conceptualize the connections between ‘globalizing’ processes, as embodied in the production networks of transnational corporations, and regional development in specific territorial formations. We delimit the ‘strategic coupling’ of the global production networks of firms and regional economies which ultimately drives regional development through the processes of value creation, enhancement and capture. In doing so, we stress the multi-scalarity of the forces and processes underlying regional development, and thus do not privilege one particular geographical scale. By way of illustration, we introduce an example drawn from recent research into global production networks in East Asia and Europe. The example profiles the investments of car manufacturer BMW in Eastern Bavaria, Germany and Rayong, Thailand, and considers their implications for regional development.

The Pungent Smell of “Red Herrings”: Subsoil assets, rents, volatility and the resource curse

Abstract: Brunnschweiler and Bulte (2008) [1] , [2] provide cross-country evidence that resource curse is a “red herring” once one corrects for endogeneity of resource exports and allows resource abundance to affect growth. Their results show that resource exports are no longer significant while value of subsoil assets has a significant positive effect on growth. But the World Bank measure of subsoil assets is proportional to current rents, and thus is also endogenous. Furthermore, their results suffer from an unfortunate data mishap, omitted variables bias, weakness of instruments, violation of exclusion restrictions and misspecification error. Correcting for these issues and instrumenting resource exports with values of proven reserves at the beginning of the sample period, there is no evidence for resource curse either and subsoil assets are no longer significant. However, the same evidence suggests that resource exports or rents boost growth in stable countries, but also make especially already volatile countries more volatile and thus indirectly worsen growth prospects. Ignoring the volatility channel may lead one to erroneously conclude that there is no effect of resources on growth.