The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), a joint center of Columbia Law School and Columbia Climate School at Columbia University, works to strengthen the sustainable development potential of international investment, and to ensure that international investment is mutually beneficial for investors and the citizens of recipient countries. We envision a world in which international investment contributes to, and does not undermine, sustainable development.
We develop and disseminate practical approaches to maximize the benefits of international investment for sustainable development—and to minimize its harms—by conducting rigorous research, providing policy analysis and advisory services, offering educational programs, developing tools and resources, and fostering multi-stakeholder dialogue and knowledge-sharing.
We integrate legal, economic, and policy expertise, and approach sustainable investment holistically, bridging diverse disciplines, including investment law, natural resource management, human rights law, economics, political economy, finance, and climate change policy. One of our great strengths lies in having knowledgeable perspective across the range of stakeholders, tools, policies, and practices that shape investment flows and outcomes. This allows us to work across communities of practice and with different stakeholder groups, and to provide insight and solutions at the intersections of these often-siloed areas relevant to sustainable investment.
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Displaying 16 - 20 of 41Community-Investor Negotiation Guide 2: Negotiating Contracts with Investors
Deciding whether or not to allow an investor to use community lands and natural resources is one of the most important decisions a community can make.
When negotiations are conducted fairly and inclusively, investments may result in the creation of jobs, provision of much-needed infrastructure such as schools, roads and clinics, and rental payments that have the potential to support the community’s long-term prosperity and wellbeing.
Negotiating Contracts with Investors - Guide 2 For community members and advocates interacting with potential investors
This guide for legal advisors, community leaders and members builds on Guide 1 in this series. If a community decides to negotiate with a potential investor, this guide describes issues that can be included in a community–investor contract. It also explains what language should be avoided in the contract. It is designed to help communities negotiate a contract with an investor that is clear, fair, and equitable.
Implementing the Ahafo Benefit Agreements: Seeking Meaningful Community Participation at Newmont’s Ahafo Gold Mine in Ghana
In 2008, ten communities in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana entered into agreements with Newmont Ghana to govern company-community relations, ensure local job creation, and share the benefits of the company’s mining operations. Ten years later, this report, co-authored by Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI), African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), CCSI, and ISP, looks at the communities’ experience of those agreements and suggests how the agreements might be improved.
Preparing in Advance for Potential Investors - Guide 1 For community members and advocates interacting with potential investors
This guide for legal advisors, community leaders and members explains how communities can prepare for interactions with potential investors, including making decisions about whether or not to negotiate. It can be used to help a community: (a) prepare before an investor arrives and (b) decide whether or not to enter into discussions or negotiations with an investor that has arrived. It should be used before any negotiations start.
Briefing note: Governing Land Investments: Do Governments Have Legal Support Gaps?
In the wave of efforts to encourage and support more “responsible” land investments, one aspect has been largely overlooked: are governments equipped with the legal and technical support needed to effectively negotiate and conclude investment contracts that lead to responsible outcomes?