Environmental and Social Impact Assessments

The development of defensible environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) is a requirement for resource projects across global jurisdictions. It is the foundation of the project approval process and the basis of review with governments, financing institutions, Indigenous groups, and communities.

If not managed and developed carefully, the ESIA may not be appropriately received, increasing development costs, adding construction delays, or restricting access to capital.

Our team uses a multidisciplinary approach with teams drawn from the company's global technical staff to complete detailed studies of potential impacts for projects throughout the world. Our experience includes work on projects in environmentally and/or socially sensitive areas, involving population displacement and resettlement, and with potential impacts to rare or endangered species. We count the successful completion of ESIAs in multitude of jurisdictions, each with its own specific environmental legislation, policy, and guidance. We have demonstrated that our close interaction with project engineering and design has enhanced our ability to move to approvals more efficiently.

We work with our clients to ensure that their corporate policies and any involved capital lending bodies are satisfied with respect to the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards. ESIAs are typically conducted in accordance with standards set out in the Equator Principles, the International Finance Corporation, and host country regulations. The studies we undertake incorporate environmental and social mitigation measures to achieve project designs that maximize project benefits, reduce impacts, and achieve a fusion of development with environmental protection and sustainability.