[This content was updated on May 27, 2026]
The stakes around non-technical risk have risen sharply as the global energy transition drives a surge in demand for critical minerals. A 2024 Global Witness report — covering the top-ten producing countries for copper, cobalt, lithium, and nickel — recorded 334 incidents of violence or protest linked to mining operations between 2021 and 2023, an average of 111 per year, with nearly 90% occurring in emerging and developing economies: precisely the markets where the next generation of megaprojects will be built. The data make clear that SLO failures are not isolated events but a systemic pattern tied to a structural imbalance: the communities bearing the social and environmental costs of extraction are rarely those capturing its financial benefits. This dynamic has attracted growing regulatory attention at the international level. In June 2025, the UN publishednew guidance requiring that critical mineral extraction advance human rights, free prior and informed consent, and robust grievance mechanisms as baseline conditions — not optional add-ons. Separately, the G20’s Critical Minerals Framework, adopted at the 2025 Johannesburg Summit, is reshaping the policy environment with governments increasingly mandating local beneficiation, community participation, and environmental accountability as preconditions for project approval. For investors and project developers, this convergence of community opposition, regulatory tightening, and geopolitical scrutiny means that the social license to operate is no longer a reputational consideration that sits alongside technical planning — it is a primary determinant of project viability and timeline.
[Original Article]
For all the talk of ESG, it is still common that when planning and delivering large-scale infrastructure projects insufficient attention is paid to social, political, and environmental risks.
A Spotlight on Oil and Gas Megaprojects study, published by EY, concluded that 64% of megaprojects in the mining and energy sectors may experience cost overruns, and 73% may experience delays in their estimated delivery time due to non-technical risks. This is a big issue.
That is why it is crucial to understand the attitudes and agendas of all relevant stakeholders, structure dialogue, and plan to get ahead of the big issues and risks. In other words, in addition to focusing on securing a technical license to operate, one must secure a social license to operate.
What Is Social License to Operate?
A social license to operate is an unwritten contract between a company and its stakeholders where the company commits to take the necessary measures to mitigate negative project impacts, and share project benefits, in return for support.
At Speyside, we adopt a step-by-step approach to achieving this, which includes a deep contextual analysis, stakeholder mapping and consultation that results in a strategy and action plan that is effective, affordable, and sustainable over the lifecycle of a project.
It is important to emphasize that when community support for a project is based purely on financial or in-kind donations, without addressing the real needs, wants and concerns of stakeholders there is a risk that more and more donations will be required, which will lead to delays and cost overruns and undermine the project. It is essential to move beyond the transactional when seeking social license.
During a project’s development, it is of course possible to lose your social license due to non-compliance with agreements made. However, it is also possible to deliver all commitments but be let down by a lack of clear stakeholder communication.
Therefore, it is essential that mining and energy megaprojects have an active communications strategy in which a narrative is built to highlight a responsible approach and project benefits while firmly rebutting issues and unjustified attacks.
Just as technical risks are identified and counteracted in the structuring of a project, it is equally important to do the same with non-technical risks because they have a real and measurable impact in delivering a project on-time and to budget.
Conclusion
Securing a social license to operate goes beyond donations—it requires listening to stakeholders, addressing real concerns, and building long-term trust. Failure to manage non-technical risks can derail even the most technically sound projects. By treating social engagement with the same rigor as engineering challenges, companies can ensure smoother, on-budget delivery and sustained community support.
