Conflict Risk Network
"Genocide Intervention Network has worked for years to address the fact that when done irresponsibly, foreign investment can fuel instability, create negative impacts for local communities and generate financial hazards for investors. The Conflict Risk Network creates an innovative venue for connecting stakeholders and companies to address this matter in Sudan and beyond."
Melany Grout, Director, Conflict Risk Network
What is the Conflict Risk Network?
The Conflict Risk Network (CRN) is a network of institutional investors, financial service providers and related stakeholders whose combined efforts to mitigate conflict risk and increase responsible foreign investment aim to protect civilians as well as investment returns.
CRN, a project of the Genocide Intervention Network (GI-NET), is a critical part of GI-NET’s work to mobilize a permanent anti-genocide constituency. Just as other GI-NET programs are a force in lobbying leaders for action on genocide, CRN is leveraging the power of institutional investors to address the integral role played by corporate actors. With institutions uniting under CRN as members, CRN is coordinating and harnessing the collective weight of billions in assets to push for responsible action by companies materially involved in GI-NET Areas of Concern.
Why the Conflict Risk Network?
When done irresponsibly, foreign investment can fuel instability and conflict, create negative impacts for local communities and generate financial hazards for investors. In short, it creates conflict risk.
In Sudan, for example, foreign oil companies provide the main source of revenue to the Sudanese government, which is reported to funnel 70% of it towards its military. In addition to this revenue stream, certain companies’ operations have been associated more directly with environmental damage and human rights abuses that generate instability and conflict. In addition to having serious negative impacts for local populations, these links between investment and conflict create risk for institutional stakeholders, as companies face negative publicity, shareholder actions, threats to assets on the ground, legislation restricting business options and more.
What does Conflict Risk Network do?
While stakeholder engagement is generally the most effective way to address conflict risk, engagement – and the research necessary to facilitate it – can be extremely expensive and time consuming. In addition, ad hoc attempts at engagement do not capture the power that can be leveraged when stakeholders coordinate to speak with a collective voice. CRN’s work addresses all of these challenges.
- Research: CRN informs institutional stakeholders by producing comprehensive research and compiling financial data on companies materially involved in select GI-NET Areas of Concern. This includes the quarterly Sudan Company Report, which contains in-depth profiles on the Sudan-related operations of companies primarily in the oil, mineral extraction, power production and weapons sectors. These quarterly reports are accompanied by spreadsheets that provide corporate structure and security identification information (ISIN, SEDOL, ticker etc), drawn from Bloomberg LP, on the companies profiled in the Sudan Company Report.
- Corporate Social Responsibility Standards: Drawing on established principles and standards, and in consultation with country experts, partner organizations and entities such as the United Nations Global Compact, CRN tailors specific corporate responsibility standards and recommendations for responsible corporate behavior in select GI-NET Areas of Concern.
- Company Engagement: Leveraging the weight of its coordinated membership base, CRN engages companies directly with the goal of persuading them to adopt the corporate social responsibility standards mentioned above and to use their spheres of influence positively (in short, to reduce conflict risk).
How can my institution join the Conflict Risk Network or access its materials?
Numerous types of institutions have joined CRN as members or subscribe to its materials. These include pension funds and asset managers, university endowments, foundations, financial service providers and for-profit socially responsible investment (SRI) firms.
For more information on CRN and the member and non-member subscriber options, please see CRN’s website (http://crn.genocideintervention.net/node). For additional information, sample materials and the associated fee scale, please contact CRN’s Director, Melany Grout, at grout@genocideintervention.net.
