Construction of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Method Applied in Project Financing for Equator Principles Financial Institutions

Since the middle of 1960s, some project financing of multi-national damaged environment, society and human rights in developing countries, which arose public attention. Financial institutions play roles of the providers and the distributors of fund, being asked to undertake the social responsibility. Equator Principles, EPs, help financial institutions identify, assess and manage environmental and social impacts and human rights in the process of project financing. According to EPs, Equator Principles Financial Institutions, EPFIs, can reject to provide loans to the enterprises which don’t undertake the responsibility of environmental or social protection. However, there is not any uniform method to measure if a project meets the demand of EPs. The study was conducted by literature review, big data analysis and case analysis, in accordance with EPs, IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability and WGB Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines, referring to practical experience of many EPFIs and international environmental and social impact assessment methods, to build up applicable environmental and social impact assessment method for EPFIs applied in project financing, including organizational structure, financing program, assessment items and methods, which provided integrated reference for new EPFIs in building up its own assessment methods. The study used ‘ Myingyan IPP Project – 225 MW Gas-fired Combined Cycle Power Station, Myanmar’ as a project case to set an example for the use of the big data analysis, EPFI project financing environmental and social impact assessment items and methods built in this study, which gave out the result that this project was most likely to be classified to category A, and the major impacts and their significance in the construction and operation period, helping EPFIs to judge if they should refuse to lend because of the environmental and social impacts of the project.