Responsibility
Society and Communities
Kosmos aims to be a trusted partner, good corporate citizen, and catalyst for positive change in our host countries. We believe that we should work with a range of stakeholders and maximize opportunities for local communities in order to contribute to global sustainable development.
Strong relationships are central to our success. By taking a collaborative approach, acting in an open and accountable manner, contributing to development, and respecting human rights, we work to be a welcome investor. While our legal license to operate is granted by national governments, we seek to obtain the broad support of communities directly associated with our operations, and bring sustainable benefits to them.
Kosmos is committed to understanding the direct and indirect effects of our activities on people and communities. We inform local communities of our plans and seek to ensure that they are engaged and kept informed about our activities through accessible and culturally appropriate methods of communication. We identify other relevant stakeholders and consult with them throughout the project lifecycle on matters that affect them in order to understand their perspectives and concerns. These consultations at the national, regional and local levels enable Kosmos to share information, understand concerns, and build relationships based on collaboration and partnership.
Social Performance
Kosmos aims to contribute to the development of our host countries and local communities, and as such we seek to maximize the benefits of our corporate presence and avoid or mitigate potential negative impacts.
To help foster sustainable development and mitigate community risk, we use suitably qualified individuals and third-party organizations to help us better understand and manage the unique social, economic and environmental risks in the areas in which we work. We then take steps to rigorously manage the potential impacts that our business might have in these areas.
Social Investment
Where appropriate, we seek to align our social investment programs with wider regional development strategies. Particularly in nations that are new to hydrocarbon development, Kosmos strives to maximize the benefits that local residents and businesses derive from exploration, development, and production activities. We recognize that the principal beneficial impacts flow from our core operations. However, we undertake a variety of social investment activities and support capacity-building programs to provide further benefits to local communities.
Our decisions when identifying, designing and implementing social investment projects are guided by the following principles:
- We take a participatory approach to understand needs and seek to create broad-based benefits
- We invest in projects that are sustainable and that aim to build local capacity or drive economic opportunity
- We require accountability and evaluate investments based on outcomes
- We integrate social investments with our core business and other activities
These principles were used as the foundation for our flagship social investment program, the Kosmos Innovation Center, and remain critical for evaluating additional social investment initiatives in our host countries.
