Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Policy
At eleQtra, we develop infrastructure projects in emerging markets that provide the platform for economic growth whilst safeguarding the surrounding communities and environment. In doing so we commit to:
- Carrying out our business in an honest and transparent manner;
- Complying with all applicable laws and applying international best practice standards in ESG;
- Actively managing ESG risks throughout the project development cycle to avoid adverse impacts from our projects. Where this is not possible, we will implement measures to reduce, mitigate and compensate for these impacts;
- Protecting the health and safety of communities and all those working on our projects;
- Promoting gender equality and minimising gender related project risks;
- Ensuring that our interactions with project stakeholders are inclusive, transparent and are relationship building driven;
- Delivering positive development outcomes from our projects and measuring and reporting these against key development impact indicators;
- Leading by example and working with our in-country partners to improve their management of ESG issues; and
- Continuously reviewing and improving our ESG performance.
In order to achieve these outcomes, we develop an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) for our projects that sets out our processes and practices in this field. Some key components of our project ESMSs are outlined below.
ESG Standards
Our reference ESG standards for projects are the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Performance Standards for Environmental and Social Sustainability (2012) and the World Bank Group’s Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines, including their industry sector guidelines. In addition to these, we comply with all relevant legislation in country and the standards of other investors and good international industry practices (GIIP) as required on an individual project by project basis. In sectors in which EHS guidelines or defined GIIP do not exist, we will refer to tools such as the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol.
eleQtra has held accreditation for the British Standard on anti-bribery management (BS 10500) since 2013. All eleQtra offices operate under the anti-bribery compliance programme which covers anti-money laundering, countering financing of terrorism, anti-bribery and corruption, conflicts of interest and whistleblowing procedures.
ESG Risk Management
Working with world leading consultancies and local experts, we manage ESG risks throughout all phases of the project development cycle from initial project screening through to construction and operation where we remain involved. We routinely carry out environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) for our projects in compliance with the aforementioned standards and Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs) where necessary. As part of our ongoing ESG management, we monitor and report ESG performance of our projects and implement prompt remediation of any project-related grievances.
Stakeholder Engagement and Public Disclosure
Stakeholder consultations are undertaken in an inclusive and transparent manner by all eleQtra staff. ESIA reports are routinely made available on our website during the project regulatory approvals process and performance evaluations of our projects are available on an ongoing basis.
Development Impact
We choose to identify and maximise any additional positive development outcomes that can be achieved from our commercial project activities, including but not limited to: job creation, creating access to new or improved infrastructure for in-country populations and improving the living standards of project affected communities. In doing so we recognise the often-overlooked risk of marginalisation of women and minority groups, and we will always seek to ensure that all community members participate fairly in any benefits arising from our projects.
The implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the Board and all eleQtra staff will contribute to its success.
Gad Cohen, CEO