We invite funders, researchers, advocates, and campaigners who will be in New York to join us for a hands-on demonstration of our methodology and open data tools that reveal the lenders, shareholders, buyers, and development finance institutions behind harmful investment projects.

For the past decade, Inclusive Development International has conducted hundreds of Follow the Money investigations of large-scale investment projects and developed innovative tools to support frontline human rights and environmental defenders to identify hidden pressure points to prevent or redress harms. 

The workshop will include our an overview of the Follow the Money theory of change and insights from our experience deploying this strategy to advance climate justice and corporate accountability from our Executive Director David Pred, Research Director Dustin Roasa, and Senior Legal & Policy Associate Coleen Scott. Attendees will learn how this methodology has helped disrupt capital flows to fossil fuels and other harmful investments, and how advocates around the world can use these tools to strengthen accountability, support frontline communities, and advance a just energy transition.

The workshop is open to the public and will be held at the London Room at Jay Conference Bryant Park on Wednesday, September 23rd at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Register: https://luma.com/0uf31i74

The post A Climate Week NYC Event appeared first on Inclusive Development International.

To demonstrate for automakers what better practices can look like in the real world, Lead the Charge members have published a series of case studies, including one from Inclusive Development International focused on how car companies that source from Guinea’s largest bauxite mine, Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG), should be engaging with and supporting communities who are at risk from the planned expansion of CBG’s mining operations—an expansion that is being driven in part by demand for aluminum for use in electric vehicles and batteries.  

The study pulls from our recent report, “I Will Do Anything to Stay Here”: What a Just Energy Transition Means to Communities at Risk from Bauxite Mining in Guinea, presenting perspectives from these communities and a list of their specific requests for CBG and its buyers, including that mining should proceed only once there has been a true dialogue and affected communities have agreed to the terms on which the project can proceed. As our case study explains, companies that use CBG bauxite in their products—including the car companies Audi, BMW, Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Toyota—have a role to play supporting communities in the proposed agreement-making process. They can do this by, among other things: 

• Engaging directly with CBG to express their expectation that CBG earn broad community support through agreement making for the expansion of the mine  

• Providing pooled resources to enable communities to access technical and legal advisers who can support them in the agreement-making process, including through generating options for avoiding harm and designing development benefits 

• Instituting material consequences if the company fails to respect its responsibilities or agreements with local communities 

• Enabling or contributing to remedy if harms occur   

The Lead the Charge Leaderboard report serves both as an incentive for automakers to do better, and a tool to help them assess and improve their supply chain due diligence practices. This case study, along with our Policy Proposal to Advance a Just Energy Transition for Project-Affected Communities set out what it takes in practice to ensure that at-risk communities have agency in decision making about how mining projects proceed. The six-measures in our policy proposal lay out a road map for automakers and their suppliers to fulfill their human rights due diligence responsibilities and promote a just energy transition for project-affected people, as they seek to bring renewable energy technologies to scale.  

Read the case study here.

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A new report released today by the international human rights organization Inclusive Development International and the Guinean NGOs Action Mines-Guinea, CECIDE and ADREMGUI, “I Will Do Anything to Stay Here”: What a Just Energy Transition Means to Communities at Risk from Bauxite Mining in Guinea, presents perspectives from people at risk from the anticipated expansion of one of the world’s largest bauxite mines—a joint venture of Rio Tinto, Alcoa, Dadco and the Guinean government, which supplies raw materials for use in electric cars, solar panels and batteries.

“Guinea’s bauxite industry is on the cusp of what could be its most significant expansion since large-scale mining began in the 1960s,” said Dustin Roasa, research director at Inclusive Development International and the author of the report. “People living in the path of planned new mines desperately want to avoid the land grabs and environmental damage that have sadly been routine in the past. They have a lot to say, and it will benefit everyone if the mining companies and the Government of Guinea listens.”

“This land is ours. We inherited it from our fathers. We want to pass it on to our sons. We should decide what happens to this land,” said Kadiatou Bah, a grandmother of 15 featured in the report, who has lived in Horé Lari village in northwestern Guinea since the 1960s.

The new report outlines the concerns and expectations of the rural communities north of the Cogon River where Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG) is currently exploring to expand its mining operation.  In the report, these community members explain how they want the mining company and its shareholders, lenders and buyers to engage with them before any mining proceeds on their land and what they expect in return. The publishers of the report believe if the company meets these expectations, it will help them avoid harm, conflict and costs in the future and result in better outcomes for all parties.

“CBG’s past mining operations have caused unnecessary harm to local communities and the environment, and while some progress has been made in recent years, expansion of the mine into the rich agricultural areas north of Cogon could be devastating to the land-connected communities who live and farm there,” said Amadou Bah, executive director of Action Mines-Guinea. “But avoiding these harms is possible if these communities are meaningfully engaged as partners throughout all stages of project development. Mining companies operating in Guinea, including CBG and its shareholders, should not repeat the mistakes of the past and should use this as an opportunity to uphold the highest standards from the beginning.”

Community expectations

Key community requests include:

• Mining should proceed only once there has been a true dialogue and affected communities have provided consent to the terms on which the project can proceed.
• There should be a fully transparent census process and participatory impact assessment and CBG and the communities should reach agreement on plans to avoid or mitigate negative impacts and the benefits that communities will receive.
• Fair compensation should be provided, including for losses due to the exploration activities currently underway, before any land-taking occurs.
• Communities should have access to technical and legal advisers to support them in these processes.

The communities’ expectations outlined in the report were informed by the experiences of their neighbors to the south who have already been affected—in some cases, displaced entirely—by mining, and who have for many years been advocating for remedy and compensation for harms that have already taken place.  

“If this happens to us—if CBG destroys our land, streams and rivers like they have done on the other side of the river—we are as good as dead,” said Boubacar Bah, whose village Teliwora lies in the path of new mining. “We know that CBG is more powerful than us, but the people of Teliwora are strong and united. We are not afraid to stand up for our rights.”

Responsibilities of CBG’s business partners

The report was launched at an event held on the sidelines of the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights being held in Geneva this week, where panelists also pointed to the responsibilities of CBG’s lenders, including the International Finance Corporation, who they called on to tie any future financing to the condition that CBG secures a fair agreement with  affected communities and fulfills the expectations for a rights-respecting, deliberative negotiation process. They also called on multinational companies that use CBG bauxite in their products—including the car companies Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, GM, Ford, Toyota and Porsche—to support the agreement making process, including through the provision of pooled resources and use of leverage in their supply chains.

CBG’s opportunity to pilot a groundbreaking, rights-based approach to mining in Guinea

At the event, Inclusive Development International’s senior legal and policy director Natalie Bugalski also presented a recently released policy proposal, endorsed by more than 60 human rights, environmental justice and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, that puts forward a framework for a rights-based approach to community participation in decision-making about investment projects that impact their land and lives—an approach they are calling on CBG to apply as they begin engaging with communities who could be affected by their mine expansion. 

“A truly just energy transition is not possible unless the people whose land and resources are affected by transition mineral mining have agency in decision making about whether and how that mining happens,” said Bugalski. “Even when the highest industry standards are upheld, that isn’t happening, which is why we are calling for a wholly new approach to engaging land-connected communities—one that is rooted in respect for their rights and their ability to weigh the risks, trade-offs and opportunities presented by mining and make their own development decisions.”

The post Guinean communities at risk from transition mineral mining speak out appeared first on Inclusive Development International.

Un nouveau rapport publié aujourd’hui par Inclusive Development International, l’organisation internationale de défense des droits humains, et les ONG guinéennes Action Mines-Guinée, CECIDE et ADREMGUI, « Je ferai tout pour rester ici » : ce que signifie une transition écologique juste pour les communautés menacées par l’exploitation minière de la bauxite en Guinée, présente les points de vue des populations menacées par l’extension envisagée de l’une des plus grandes mines de bauxite au monde, une coentreprise entre Rio Tinto, Alcoa, Dadco et le gouvernement guinéen, qui fournit des matières premières utilisées dans les véhicules électriques, les panneaux solaires et les batteries.

« L’industrie de la bauxite en Guinée est sur le point de connaître son expansion la plus importante depuis le début de l’exploitation minière à grande échelle dans les années 1960 », a déclaré Dustin Roasa, directeur de recherche chez Inclusive Development International et auteur du rapport.  « Les populations qui vivent à proximité des nouveaux sites miniers envisagés souhaitent absolument éviter que leur exploitation ne se traduise par la confiscation des terres et n’entraîne des dommages environnementaux, qui ont malheureusement accompagné l’exploitation minière dans le passé. Elles ont beaucoup à dire, et il serait dans l’intérêt de tous que les sociétés minières et le gouvernement guinéen les écoutent. »  

« Cette terre est la nôtre. Nous l’avons héritée de nos pères. Nous voulons la transmettre à nos fils. C’est à nous de décider ce qu’il adviendra de cette terre », a déclaré Kadiatou Bah, une grand-mère de 15 petits-enfants citée dans le rapport, qui vit dans le village de Horé Lari, au nord-ouest de la Guinée, depuis les années 1960.

Le nouveau rapport présente les préoccupations et les attentes des communautés rurales situées au nord du fleuve Cogon, où la Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG) prospecte actuellement en vue d’étendre ses activités minières. Dans ce rapport, les membres de ces communautés expliquent les relations qu’ils souhaitent avoir avec la société minière et ses actionnaires, bailleurs de fonds et acheteurs avant toute exploitation minière sur leurs terres et ce qu’ils attendent en retour. Les auteurs du rapport estiment que la réponse de l’entreprise à ces attentes les aidera à éviter les préjudices, les conflits et les coûts à l’avenir, et se traduira par de meilleurs résultats pour l’ensemble des parties.

« Dans le passé, les activités minières de la CBG ont causé des dommages inutiles aux communautés locales et à l’environnement, et bien que des progrès aient été réalisés ces dernières années, l’expansion de la mine dans les riches zones agricoles au nord de Cogon pourrait être dévastatrice pour les communautés liées à la terre qui vivent et cultivent la terre dans cette région », a déclaré Amadou Bah, directeur exécutif d’Action Mines-Guinée. « Mais il est possible d’éviter ces dommages si ces communautés sont véritablement impliquées en tant que partenaires à toutes les étapes du développement du projet. Les sociétés minières opérant en Guinée, y compris la CBG et ses actionnaires, ne doivent pas répéter les erreurs du passé et doivent saisir cette opportunité pour respecter les normes les plus élevées dès le début. »

Attentes des communautés

Les principales demandes des communautés concernées sont les suivantes :

• L’exploitation minière ne devrait débuter qu’après un véritable dialogue et après que les communautés concernées ont donné leur accord sur les conditions dans lesquelles le projet peut se réaliser.

• Le processus de recensement et l’évaluation participative des impacts devraient être totalement transparents, et il conviendrait que la CBG et les communautés parviennent à un accord sur les plans visant à éviter ou à atténuer les impacts négatifs et sur les avantages dont bénéficieront les communautés.
• Une indemnisation équitable devrait être versée, y compris pour les pertes dues aux activités d’exploration actuellement en cours, avant toute expropriation.
• Les communautés devraient avoir accès à des conseillers techniques et juridiques pour les aider dans ces processus.

Les attentes des communautés décrites dans le rapport s’appuient sur les expériences de leurs voisins du sud qui ont déjà été affectés, voire dans certains cas entièrement déplacés, par l’exploitation minière et qui, depuis de nombreuses années, réclament des réparations et des compensations pour les dommages déjà causés.  

« Si cela nous arrive, si la CBG détruit nos terres, nos ruisseaux et nos rivières comme ils l’ont fait de l’autre côté du fleuve, nous sommes pratiquement condamnés », a déclaré Boubacar Bah, dont le village de Teliwora se trouve dans la zone d’exploitation minière envisagée. « Nous savons que la CBG est plus puissante que nous. Mais les habitants de Teliwora sont forts et unis. Nous n’avons pas peur de défendre nos droits. » 

Responsabilités des partenaires commerciaux de la CBG

Le rapport a été présenté lors d’un événement organisé  parallèlement au Forum des Nations Unies sur les entreprises et les droits de l’homme qui se tient cette semaine à Genève. Les intervenants ont également souligné les responsabilités des bailleurs de fonds de la CBG, notamment la Société financière internationale, qu’ils ont appelée à subordonner tout financement futur à la condition que la CBG conclue un accord équitable avec les communautés concernées et réponde aux attentes en matière de respect des droits et de processus de négociation délibératif. Ils ont également appelé les multinationales qui utilisent la bauxite de la CBG dans leurs produits, notamment les constructeurs automobiles Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, GM, Ford, Toyota et Porsche, à soutenir le processus de conclusion d’un accord, notamment en mettant en commun leurs ressources et en utilisant leur influence dans leurs chaînes d’approvisionnement.

L’opportunité pour la CBG de tester une approche novatrice et fondée sur les droits dans le secteur minier Guinéen

Lors de cet événement, Natalie Bugalski, directrice juridique et responsable principale de la politique d’Inclusive Development International, a également présenté une proposition politique récemment publiée par l’organisation. Approuvée par plus de 60 organisations de défense des droits humains, de la justice environnementale et des populations autochtones, cette politique propose un cadre pour une approche fondée sur les droits en matière de participation communautaire à la prise de décision concernant les projets d’investissement qui ont un impact sur les terres et la vie des communautés concernées. Ces organisations invitent la CBG à suivre cette approche dans son engagement auprès des communautés susceptibles d’être affectées par l’expansion de ses activités minières. 

« Une transition énergétique véritablement juste n’est possible que si les populations dont les terres et les ressources sont affectées par l’exploitation minière des minéraux de transition ont leur mot à dire dans la décision de mener ou non cette exploitation et dans les modalités de sa mise en œuvre », a déclaré Mme Bugalski. « Même lorsque les normes les plus élevées de l’industrie sont respectées, ce n’est pas le cas, et c’est pourquoi nous appelons à une approche entièrement nouvelle pour impliquer les communautés liées à la terre, une approche fondée sur le respect de leurs droits et de leur capacité à évaluer les risques, les compromis et les opportunités présentés par l’exploitation minière et à prendre leurs propres décisions en matière de développement. » 

The post Les communautés guinéennes menacées par l’exploitation minière des minéraux de transition expriment leurs préoccupations appeared first on Inclusive Development International.

The proposal notes that while a rapid shift to renewable energy use is urgently needed, transition mineral mining, large-scale renewable energy infrastructure and other projects being pursued are enormously land-intensive, and current approaches to land acquisition for such projects routinely lead to forced displacement and other rights violations.  

“Unless the major industries involved—including mining companies, their downstream buyers and the development banks and other financial institutions backing them—adopt a fundamentally different approach to how communities are treated when their land is needed for investment projects, we will replicate the injustices of the extractive, fossil economy we are trying to leave behind,” said David Pred, executive director of Inclusive Development International.   

Proposal for a just alternative to development-forced displacement 

The proposed new approach puts forward a framework for shifting policy and practice away from the prevailing paradigm that accepts forced displacement of communities “in the way of development,” towards a new approach to engaging project-affected people that is rooted in respect for their dignity, knowledge and capabilities to make their own development choices.  Core principles include:  

1. Communities should have access to independent technical and legal support to conduct mapping and baseline studies of their land and resources, assess the impacts of project design options, and shape the development benefits they wish to attain from the project. 

2. Designs that avoid displacement and other significant community impacts to the maximum extent possible should be prioritized—only after fully exploring avoidance options should unavoidable impacts be addressed, with a focus on minimizing their duration and maximizing restoration and return of land.  

3. Rights-based mediation that addresses power imbalances should be used to forge fair and equitable agreements that prevent harm to communities and provide compensation and development benefits that sustainably improve their living standards and well-being.  

4. Involuntary resettlement should only be carried out in the most exceptional circumstances, in strict accordance with international human rights law principles—any invocation by governments of “public interest” to justify expropriation and override community objections must be subject to a rigorous human rights assessment. In the case of Indigenous Peoples, expropriation should not proceed without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).  

5. Community-company agreements should be legally binding and enforceable by communities themselves—with the support of legal counsel—through courts, human rights-compliant arbitration, such as under the Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration, or other accessible and effective enforcement mechanisms.   

6. Development finance institutions, commercial lenders, investors and buyers should enable this approach by contributing resources for independent technical and legal support for communities and by offering mediation services for upfront agreement making, and they should use their leverage to ensure that obligations to communities are met throughout the project cycle. 

As the leading private sector standard setter on environmental and social issues, the IFC’s adoption of a just approach to community engagement would have a catalytic effect. More than 150 organizations, including financial institutions that are signatories to the Equator Principles, export credit agencies, and Development Finance Institutions rely on the IFC’s Performance Standards, and many individual corporations commit to their implementation in their operations. In April 2025 the IFC commenced a multi-year update of its Sustainability Framework, including the Performance Standards, offering a critical opportunity for change.  

“This moment requires more than tinkering on the edges of the IFC Sustainability Framework. It calls for a wholesale new approach that starts by recognizing affected communities—not as passive stakeholders as they are currently treated—but as rights-holders with the capability and the power to exercise agency over decisions that may fundamentally alter their lives,” said Natalie Bugalski, senior legal and policy director at Inclusive Development International, and the lead author of the proposal.  

“This is not actually a radical proposition—it just means incorporating concrete measures into the Performance Standards that will give effect to the commitment that the IFC and other institutions already make to realizing broad community support for their projects.” 

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