Social License to Operate in Nuclear Waste Management

• In Event: Environmental Risks in Transnational Contexts II

Abstract

The past couple of decades have seen the emergence of the notion of social licence to operate (SLO). Originally developed by the mining industry as a mechanism to ensure its continued viability in the face of growing criticism and opposition against mining projects (Owen and Kemp, 2013, 29), SLO has over the years spread to many other industrial sectors. So far, the concept has not been picked up in nuclear waste management (NWM), despite the considerable efforts in this sector to nurture its relationships with possible host communities, including via the implementation of specific benefit schemes to encourage communities to engage in the siting processes. The SLO approach aims at helping developers to incorporate a model of consultation that engages local communities in ways that could enhance transparency and local support, and complement formal regulatory processes (cf. Hall et al. 2015).
The paper analyses the forms of community engagement and benefit practices that implicitly or explicitly draw upon the SLO approach, as they have been applied in three forerunner countries in NWM: Finland, France and Sweden. We will explore the varying manifestations of SLO-inspired approaches across these different national political cultures, examining the community engagement and benefit schemes within their specific socio-technical configurations. Methodologically, the paper relies on systematic analysis of documentation and stakeholder interviews in the three countries. The paper makes a theoretically novel contribution by drawing insights from the literatures on SLO and community benefit approaches, and linking those with STS research on public engagement.

Authors

• Matti Kojo, University of Tampere

• Markku Lehtonen, GSPR/EHESS, Paris & Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona & University of Sussex

• Tuija Jartti, University of Jyväskylä

• Tapio Litmanen, University of Jyväskylä

• Mika Kari, University of Jyväskylä