In brief...
The Equator Principles Association has published a consultation draft of version four of the
EquatorPrinciples (EPs), the international baseline for the
identification, assessment and management of environmental and
social risks in international project finance debt markets. The
proposed changes to the EPs, if implemented, will require project
sponsors and lenders alike to adapt their respective assessment,
screening and due diligence processes to reflect the revised EPs,
particularly as they relate to human rights impacts, climate change
risks and effects on indigenous peoples.
Lenders would be well-served by moving early to adopt –
and communicate the adoption of – enhanced screening and due
diligence processes in relation to human rights, climate change and
indigenous peoples. In particular, lenders should consider their
approach to due diligence on projects in high income OECD countries
where there is divergence between the host country laws and
