DAI Launches New Unit to Serve Commercial Clients and Host Governments

August 25, 2017

DAI today announced the launch of the Sustainable Business Group, a unit designed to help private companies operate sustainably, responsibly, and profitably.

DAI’s Sustainable Business Group integrates a suite of services previously offered through DAI’s Energy & Resources Group, which focused on the oil, gas, and mining sectors; Local Content Solutions (LCS), the world’s premier local content strategy firm, which was founded by Michael Warner and acquired by DAI in March of this year; and DAI’s technical services teams.

“Local content strategy, social investment solutions, government and community engagement—these kinds of issues are increasingly important for all companies, whatever sector they’re in and wherever they operate,” said Zachary Kaplan, Director of the Sustainable Business Group.

“We have seen striking success over the past two years working alongside forward-looking clients and host governments to address these sustainability issues in the extractives industries,” added Kaplan. “Given the growth in that business line, the successful integration of LCS, and the investments we have made in expertise, in empirical data, and in unique software products, now is the time to bring our capabilities to a broader client base.”

Building on DAI’s 40 years of experience supporting development in emerging economies, the Sustainable Business Group helps businesses and governments maximize the value, sustainability, and development impact of new investments in strong growth sectors. With the advice and assistance of our team, private companies are better placed to secure the social license to operate, comply with local laws and regulations, participate in and drive the host country’s socio-economic development, and establish themselves as trusted partners for government.

To take just a few examples, the Group has worked with ExxonMobil to set up the Centre for Local Business Development in Guyana, with Kosmos Energy to launch the Kosmos Innovation Center in Ghana, and with Chevron to draft the economic development strategy for the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta—a Nigerian foundation judged by the Initiative for Global Development to have “‘moved the needle’ on corporate social responsibility, shared value, and development to a new level.”

“The lessons we have learned in these and other engagements are systematically incorporated into our consulting services and into offerings such as our Local Content MasterClass, just as the data we are collecting is incorporated in products like our Local Content Optimization Model,” said Michael Warner. “We look forward to bringing this growing knowledge base to a new set of corporate and government customers in the years ahead.”