Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Sub-Saharan Africa and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Insights from Italian Investments

Since the mid-2000s, there has been a large interest in agriculture-based private and public–private investments in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A major driver of this land rush has been the increasing demand for biofuels in the European Union, especially due to the EU 2009 (EU RED, Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the Promotion of the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources), Renewable Energy Directive (EU RED), which stipulates that by 2020 at least 10% of the energy used in the transport sector in every Member-State must be from renewable energy sources. However, large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) can have very diverse sustainability impacts in SSA. This chapter analyses the intersection between corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies and LSLAs in SSA, focusing on Italian investors. We initially identify the characteristics of these LSLAs during the last decade, especially in the context of EU RED. The results suggest that Italian investors have acquired large tracts of land, especially for bioenergy crops. However, the analysis of CSR strategies suggests that most investors do not show responsible behaviour for issues related to land acquisitions. Practically none of these investors has adopted voluntary standard or certification and labelling (SCL) schemes that properly consider the main sustainability impacts of LSLAs.