Assessment of environmental and social impacts
ENSOR is one of the market leaders in consulting services for environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) in accordance with both the national requirements of Russia and the CIS countries, and the requirements of international standards and best practices (European Union Directives, IFC standards, requirements of IFIs, such as EBRD, World Bank, Equator Principles signatories, industry standards, etc.).
Our impact assessment services help our clients gain approval from regulators, the public, and financiers (banks, export credit agencies) through early identification and practical management of environmental and social risks and impacts. This helps clients achieve their goals on time, gain broad stakeholder support, attract third-party funding on favourable terms, and put in place effective tools to manage identified impacts and risks.
ENSOR has a deep understanding of environmental and social issues, as well as stakeholder engagement procedures which is based on many years of experience in successfully developing ESIAs for major investment projects in various industries in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other neighbouring countries.
The services we provide include:
· Environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) in accordance with national requirements and requirements of international financial institutions
· Cumulative and transboundary impacts assessment
· Development of environmental and social design criteria, taking into account national and international requirements
· Development of environmental and social impacts and risks management plans during construction, operation and closure stages, including such aspects as:
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Grievance mechanism
- Air Emissions and Noise
- Water Resources
- Waste
- Contractors
- Health and Safety
- Transport Safety
- Biodiversity
- Hazardous Materials and Substances
- Soil and Groundwater
- Accommodation
- Resettlement and Economic Displacement
- Human Rights
- Cultural Heritage
· Environmental and Social Monitoring
· Assistance with Environmental Permitting and Compliance
Our experts have extensive experience in conducting independent EHS&S assessments and audits of various scale in various industries. Realizing that every organization is unique, we work in partnership with our clients to identify and meet their specific needs in the best possible way. We apply best practices to help our clients understand and address identified issues and improve their EHS&S performance.
Our professional connections with subject-matter experts abroad and a good command of foreign languages enable us to carry out EHS&S assessments and audits in near and far-abroad countries.
Our services include, but not limited to:
· Environmental audit
· Occupational health & safety, fire and industrial safety audit
· Supply chain EHS/ESG audit
· Best available techniques (BAT) assessment
· International environmental and social standards compliance assessment, including but not limited to:
- Environmental and social requirements of financial institutions (IFC, EBRD, ADB, NDB, AIIB and etc.)
- Equator Principles
- International conventions and agreements
- Industry standards (ICMM, IRMA, Responsible Steel, Responsible Gold, Together for Sustainability, GLP, GMP, GSP, Responsible Recycling R2, e-Stewards, Operating Standard (RIOS), etc.)
We also offer services for assessing environmental conditions of greenfield and brownfield sites as well as operating facilities. Such assessments may be required as part of the land acquisition process for sites which are, or have been used for operations characterised by a high risk of past or ongoing contamination of soil and groundwater. An assessment is undertaken to confirm the presence or absence of contamination, assess its extent and potential financial and/or legal liability for the site owner, and develop a cleanup plan, if necessary.
Due to the stricter requirements for the assessment and elimination of historical contamination, existing industries also require an assessment of the current level of impact on soils and groundwater and associated risks. In case of high significance of risks, programs must be developed to minimize them.
ENSOR experts have many years of experience in assessing the environmental baseline of industrial sites in oil and gas, mining, metallurgical, chemical, automotive and other sectors. In providing services we are guided by both national requirements and international standards and best practices (e.g., ASTM E1903 Standard Guide for Phase II Environmental Site Assessments).
The services we provide include:
· Environmental engineering and ecological baseline studies
· Assessment of contaminated land plots and territories using the best international methodologies and approaches
· Asbestos-containing materials presence assessment and management plans development
· Polychlorinated biphenyls presence assessment and management plans development
· Environmental monitoring
