Burning rubber : Buchanan renewables' impact on sustainable development in Liberia
Document type: report
Download file(s):
343803 (1477 KB)
Abstract:
Buchanan Renewables (BR) established its operations in Liberia in 2006, a time when the country was just recovering from its devastating civil war, and when a new energy strategy based on the use of biomass as an important energy source had been developed in Europe. While the company actively promoted its business model of producing biomass from old unproductive rubber trees as a sustainable one, it also received criticism due to the fact that smallholder rubber farmers were not benefitting as much as they had expected. This research aims to assess how a number of stakeholders have been affected by the practices of BR, and to what extent these practices reflect the socially and environmentally sustainable public image of the company. The report evaluates four different issues related to BRs activities: 1) The regulatory framework for BRs operations in Liberia; 2) the impacts on smallholder rubber farmers; 3) the impacts on the Liberian charcoal market; and 4) tax avoidance through its corporate structure.
Authors:
Steinweg, T.
,
Racz, K.
,
Brownell, A.
,
Colee, F.
Country:
Liberia
Category:
Research
ISBN:
978-90-71284-87-8
Keywords:
agriculture
,
energy resources
,
sustainable development
Language:
eng
Organization:
SOMO - Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations
Organization:
Green Advocates
PAGE:
67
Place:
Amsterdam [etc.]
Publisher:
SOMO [etc.]
Year:
2011
Region:
West Africa
Right:
© 2011 SOMO & Green Advocates. This document is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivateWorks 2.5 License.
Subject:
Environment and Natural Resources
Title:
Burning rubber : Buchanan renewables' impact on sustainable development in Liberia