The Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) is a tool used by banks to ensure that any outstanding environmental and social issues at the time of approval of the transaction are resolved in a timely and appropriate manner, as well as to ensure continued compliance with environmental and social requirements. and the requirements of national law.
The environmental and social action plan includes measures that your company is currently implementing or plans to implement to reduce the environmental, occupational, health and safety impacts that occur during the construction, operation and decommissioning phases.
ESAP can be in tabular form (sample table 1) or in writing, depending on the level of explanation required. It should include the following key elements:
- Action / Problem;
- Required reason / objective;
- Deadline / deadline for completion;
- Responsible person / unit to perform the task;
- Cost / financing;
- Other information or comments.
The Environmental and Social Action Plan addresses the following issues:
- the mechanisms of environmental and social management of the enterprise, which are used to identify environmental and social risks, impacts and opportunities associated with its business activities and financed operations, in particular, as well as how to manage these risks and impacts;
- working conditions and attitudes towards people in the working environment on the basis of their rights to volunteer work, decent and fair treatment, non-discrimination, equal opportunities, minimum working age, freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively, occupational health and safety workplace;
- measures taken to prevent and reduce pollution and how efficiently resources are used;
- potential problems related to the enterprise and its activities, functioning, in particular, affecting local communities, their health and safety;
- issues related to land acquisition, forced relocation and economic relocation;
- impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainable use of living natural resources and measures to manage and mitigate these impacts;
- protection of any cultural heritage that may be affected by the activities and / or activities of the client financed by the bank.
Table 1.
| No | Action | Responsibility for environment risks/benefits | Legislative requirements / requirements EBRD/ Best practices | Investment needs/ Resources / Responsible | Deadline for implementation | Objectives and criteria for evaluating successful implementation | Status | ||||||||
| 1. Management system in the field of ecology and labor protection. | |||||||||||||||
| 2. Environmental protection. | |||||||||||||||
| 3. Labor protection.and security | |||||||||||||||
| 4. Social issues (health, safety and security of local communities). | |||||||||||||||
| etc | |||||||||||||||
The absence of problems related to environmental and social management is a good sign for investors and a guarantee of public loyalty to the company. Submission of ESAP in a form satisfactory to the Bank may be a condition for further cooperation. In almost all cases, the development and implementation of ESAP is a prerequisite for obtaining credit from international financial institutions, and is an integral part of financial agreements.
By favoring a company with an excellent reputation and extensive experience in preparing environmental and social action plans and with experience in international financial institutions, you increase your chances of signing profitable agreements, save time, financial and energy resources, and receive quality support for your projects. and trust from the bank with which you plan to cooperate.