Oil, mining and natural-gas companies have long been active in conflict zones. Willingly or not, they have had to adapt their business practices. But it‘s not just the extractive industries which are in the frontline. Calls are growing for businesses across the board to think about their role in conflict resolution. Laurent Goetschel is director of the Swiss Peace Foundation, swisspeace

GOETSCHEL: If you look at peace processes and the actors involved in peace processes, multinationals also have a role to play even though they may not yet be completely aware of it. That‘s why one should find out more about how they could modify or improve their behaviour to have a better impact.

Goetschel points out that companies have a self-interest in promoting peace and preventing conflict. His colleague at swisspeace, Ulrike Joras, offers some tips for how companies might behave.

JORAS: If there is a conflict with a strong ethnic division between certain ethnic groups, then the company should try to avoid just hiring people from one certain ethnic group not to put more fuel into the fire of the ethnic tensions that exist already. Similarly with water if there is a conflict around water, a company should try to avoid getting water from one specific source.

Goetschel admits that the companies approached so far have shown little enthusiasm for their new role but he says they are starting to become interested in the issue. 

GOETSCHEL: You take this the same way as if you would have asked them 20 years ago about human rights and environmental issues and you would most likely have gotten the same answer as you got today regarding conflicts and peace processes. So I guess in five years they will be fully tuned in.

swisspeace says that it remains a challenge for many businesses to figure out how they can function and make a profit while helping to strengthen the prospects of peace and stability. In that context, Tesco‘s announcement that that it would stop sourcing products from Zimbabwe has caused a ripple of interest. On the other hand, the company says the amounts involved – about CHF2 million a year – are insignificant in terms of global trade and influence.