CONSTRUCTING MEANING AND NEGOTIATING POWER IN CSR: AN APPLIED GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK FROM PT BERAU COAL, INDONESIA

Abstract

This article critically examines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of PT Berau Coal in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork—including participant observation, interviews, and focus group discussions—the study explores how CSR is constructed, negotiated, and contested in mining-affected communities. The findings reveal persistent mismatches between corporate interpretations of community needs and the lived realities of local residents. CSR programs are frequently delivered as standardized, top-down interventions that remain largely symbolic, failing to address structural problems such as ecological degradation, livelihood insecurity, and the marginalization of women, youth, and Indigenous groups.

The analysis shows that CSR often functions less as a tool of empowerment and more as a mechanism for reproducing corporate hegemony, while at the same time creating limited spaces for community critique and resistance. To reconfigure CSR as a participatory governance mechanism, the study proposes five strategic directions: strengthening transparency and accountability through independent oversight, institutionalizing inclusive participation, promoting local economic diversification, aligning CSR with regional development plans, and advancing ecological restoration through community-led initiatives.

By situating the Berau case within wider debates on sustainability and extractive governance, the study underscores both the risks of depoliticized CSR and the potential for transformative reform. Ultimately, it argues that CSR in extractive industries must move beyond philanthropy and image-building, serving instead as a collaborative platform for social justice, ecological renewal, and sustainable futures in mining-dependent regions.