Arctic Yearbook 2015 | Page 144

144 Arctic Yearbook 2015 expert review (in referring to indigenous peoples’ right to take part in ecological and anthropological expert reviews). CSR in mining Currently, the majority of mining companies operating in the Arctic are following some international standards, frameworks or guidelines in order to address their own responsibility towards sustainable development. In Finland, there are vast differences in how mining companies have perceived the need to develop their CSR policies. In the beginning of the mining boom until 2010s, the Finnish general political atmosphere and mining industry was passive towards social responsibility strategies (Rytteri 2012). In 2010, the National Mineral Strategy did not give real attention to social responsibility issues. The attitudes changed dramatically after the Talvivaara mine issues which prompted the public to have very negative views towards mining (Tiainen et al. 2014). After that, some international mining companies operating in Finland decided to implement public engagement strategies (Rytteri 2012) as well as the Finnish Government has become active in this dialogue. In 2012, the Government approved a decision-in-principle to put Finnish enterprises and administration in a position of leadership in CSR (MEE 2012). In 2013, the action paper for Finnish mining sector (MEE 2013) proposed CSR as one of the main approaches for future development. In Sweden CSR has become an established concept in business in general (De Geer et al. 2009: 272). The Minerals Strategy of Sweden states that the country is actively involved in international forums to develop CSR and business ethics (Government Offices of Sweden 2013: 46), but does not talk about CSR in the national context or the expectations towards the companies. Mining companies have been slow to develop active policies for improving social acceptance and local communication, though differences between the companies exist (Tarras-Wahlberg 2014). A case study on Boliden, a big Swedish mining company suggests that the company needs a more systematic approach to dealing with community issues (Ranängen & Zobel 2014). A similar finding was made by Knobblock (2013: 165). Nonetheless, there are some signs of a shift in conduct with the companies (mainly new international ones) striving to engage a wider spectrum of stakeholders in consultation and improving the quality of EIAs (Tarras-Wahlberg 2014: 145-146). In Greenland, mining is still in its beginning phase and so the CSR practices have not yet been tested. There is an active history of companies supporting local communities and practici