Alignment with Lender Standards and Good International Industry Practice
The Biodiversity Consultancy has played a significant role in shaping and applying the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 6 (PS6) since 2012, giving us a deep, in-depth of technical knowledge of the standard and a unique skill set to support clients wishing to fulfill PS6 requirements. Our extensive portfolio and detailed working knowledge also include other lenders' standards such as the Equator Principles, EBRD's PR6, ADB's ESS6, and AfDB's OS3. This enables us to provide expert biodiversity advice, technical support, and capacity building to ensure alignment with a wide range of international lenders' requirements and good international industry practice (GIIP). We have particular expertise in challenging projects in highly biodiverse areas or where there are threatened species and critical habitat. Our expert reputation and respected independence mean we can collaborate with lenders, developers and interested external stakeholders to ensure issues are identified and addressed quickly.
Organisations benefit from our specialised expertise in biodiversity risk screening, Critical Habitat Assessment (CHA), Residual Impact Assessment (RIA), Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP), offset feasibility studies, offset design and implementation planning, as well as establishing metrics for monitoring and evaluation of impacts and offsets. We also offer guidance on Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, including strategic biodiversity baseline data collection, monitoring, and biodiversity-related stakeholder engagement.
The objectives of PS6 are to protect and conserve biodiversity and habitats, encourage the implementation of the mitigation hierarchy and promote sustainable management of living natural resources. The basic targets are clear and simple: a net gain for critical habitat and no net loss for natural habitat. In practice, defining critical habitat and demonstrating net gain with the appropriate level of confidence can be challenging. Application of PS6 is very site-specific, depending on the species, ecosystems, quality of baseline data and existing biodiversity management. Fulfilling the requirements of PS6 is a significant undertaking, and alignment is best initiated at the very start of project planning and integrated with the development of an environmental impact assessment. TBC's experts are ready to support your project at any stage of project development, contact us to discuss your specific needs.
