Chapter 04 · People & supply chainsHuman Rights & Social Sustainability
Social licence to operate
Definition
Social licence to operate is the informal acceptance or trust that communities and stakeholders grant to an organisation or project beyond formal legal permission.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Social licence to operate” is defined and used.
Overview
What it means in practice
Social licence to operate should be read as a human-rights and social-sustainability term. Its meaning depends on affected people, power relationships, local context, evidence and remedy.
In practice, users should state the boundary, actor, evidence and decision context. That keeps social licence to operate specific enough for review without turning it into a generic assurance claim.
Why it matters
Social licence to operate matters because social language can affect rights, voice, safety and remedy. Clear wording helps keep attention on people affected rather than only on corporate processes.
Common misconception
A common error is to treat Social licence to operate as a community or workforce relations label only. The stronger approach is to state who is affected, what right or interest is at stake, and what evidence or remedy exists.
Review questions
Who is responsible, and who is affected? What evidence supports the term? What limitation, authority or remedy would change how a reader interprets it?
How it is used
In professional practice, “Social licence to operate” helps employers, buyers, suppliers, governments, workers and affected communities describe or assess the informal acceptance or trust that communities and stakeholders grant to an organisation or project beyond formal legal permission.
It is commonly encountered in workplace policy, sourcing, human-rights due diligence, community engagement and supply-chain management. A credible application identifies the affected population, supply-chain boundary, local context, timeframe and evidence from rights-holders.