ESIA - Environmental and Social Impact Assessments

Antea Group has extensive knowledge and experience in the field of environmental and social assessment for its private clients and for projects funded by international financial institutions in the energy, mining, waste, water, land development, and industrial sectors.

Our multidisciplinary approach, including local expertise, enables us to perform project-specific E&S studies that are adequately sized depending on E&S issues, such as E&S Risk Assessment (Due Diligence), Environmental & Social Management System (ESMS), Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)/Livelihood Restauration Plan (LRP), Stakeholders Engagement Plan (SEP), Industrial risk assessment, etc.

Antea Group assists its clients by ensuring that the environmental permitting schedule and budget for their projects stay on track by facilitating the interface between the client, local and international E&S experts, and lenders.

Our expert team has a strong experience in developing Environmental and Social studies according to local regulation and international standards sur as IFC standards, World Bank E&S Safeguard Policies, EBRD Performance Requirements, Equator Principles & OECD Common Approaches), etc.  

These standards require comprehensive impact assessments and in-depth study of specific E&S issues such as critical habitat evaluation and biodiversity offset, ecosystem services assessment, indigenous peoples, respect for human and workers’ rights, adaptation to climate change, integration of associated facilities, cumulative impacts, and greenhouse-gas emission as part of impact assessment.

Thanks to our numerous successful ESIA projects, we are qualified to provide E&S studies that are compliant with local regulation and international E&S standards.

We also provide environmental technical assistance for our clients who need support for E&S risk evaluation (Due Diligence), specific studies (soil contamination, industrial risk, air quality, etc.), reports and other documentary reviews as well as the implementation of the project’s E&S management system in line with international standards.

Antea Group has extensive experience in project management for a wide range of ESIAs and, depending on the project and client’s needs, we provide a full package of services ranging from conceptual project design to environmental permitting and subsequently to construction monitoring, or technical assistance throughout the project life cycle.

Our ESIA work is iterative, working closely with the engineering team to optimize project design and mitigate its impacts whilst maintaining project viability.

With our experience in managing and coordinating input from various disciplines, we are well positioned to provide extended engineering studies associated to ESIA such as hydrogeological / hydrological hazards, waste management and geotechnical studies, GIS management, and land remediation to meet the  clients’ requirements.

Not only do we have the required experience to manage the complex processes surrounding ESIAs and permits, but we have also developed a strong and reliable local network covering  a wide range of disciplines and countries to meet various project needs.

The appropriate analysis of environmental and social resources, cultural practices, and national regulatory framework require the input of local experts in the early stages of the project.

Most of our projects are implemented in partnership with a local company that provides logistics, skills, knowledge and experience related to its country, its environment, its habits and customs.

Besides this country expertise, we have also developed a strong business network with other international companies and freelancers who bring their technical knowledge and subject-specific expertise.

A project’s social acceptability depends on structured and transparent communication with stakeholders. We support our client in establishing efficient and thorough engagement and communication strategies with stakeholders, including national authorities.

All along the E&S evaluation process, we provide assistance for obtaining permits and approvals from national environmental authorities.

Beyond an authority’s approval, managing engagement with local communities and their expectations is also crucial to ensure the project’s acceptability. We organize public consultations on behalf of our clients in a wide range of contexts and perform interviews with key stakeholders in order to propose the most suitable stakeholder engagement strategies to our clients.

Our local partners make this process possible and allow us to adapt it more effectively to the local context.

Our in-house expertise in social impact management, together with our local social experts, mean that we can perform a large variety of social studies on land management and access, subsistence strategies (agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, sand mining), gender issues and gender-based violence, group vulnerability, conflict and humanitarian issues, human rights and indigenous peoples.

We can perform health, heritage, human rights, and gender impact assessments adapted to the project’s particular stakes and challenges.