Equator Principles

If your organization is seeking project finance, the Equator Principles are a framework against which you can benchmark your plans. The principles, adopted by the leading financial institutions worldwide, are a set of social and environmental responsibility benchmarks for managing these risks in development project finance.

Adopting and auditing the principles in relation to your projects enables you to show banks, sponsors, investors, government agencies and other stakeholders your commitment to environmental and social responsibility and social risk management.

Our expertise in independent auditing and verification can help your projects meet these principles, the most widely recognized standards, in the areas of Forestry, Energy, Bio-fuels sustainability, Environment, Health and Safety, or Labor conditions. This will minimize your project-related risks and protect your reputation.

Covering ten key areas, the Equator Principles provide a common baseline and framework for the implementation of internal environmental and social procedures and standards for project finance activities across all industries:

• Review and Categorization of Projects
• Social and Environmental Assessment
• Applicable Social and Environmental Standards
• Action Plan and Management System
• Consultation and Disclosure
• Grievance Mechanism
• Independent Review
• Covenants
• Independent Monitoring and Reporting
• Reporting

We provide a variety of services addressing the requirements of the Equator Principles including:

• Environmental and Social Assessment to sponsors (as per Principle 2)
• Independent Reviews for banks, in particular Mandated Lead Arrangers (as per Principle 7)
• Independent Monitoring and Reporting and (as per Principle 9)
• Gap analysis of environmental management systems

Manage project risks and demonstrate your organization’s commitment to social and environmental risk management by adopting the Equator Principles.