International environmental best practice

As global biodiversity loss progresses at an unprecedented rate, the integration of habitats and species into development projects, and consideration of how developments have the potential to affect ecosystem function, is more important than ever. We consider these wider issues and incorporate environmental best practice into all that we do, including championing the following best practice in our projects:

We help our clients work towards achieving international environmental best practice, not only to secure investor funding but also as part of due diligence and risk management. We recognise that close coordination with the client and design teams is critical to ensure that biodiversity is accounted for within the design. We believe biodiversity should be an asset not a constraint to development.​

We have experience in applying International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards (amongst others) to development projects to manage environmental and social risks. These standards are generally recognised as being international best practice, and they provide a robust framework to incorporate biodiversity conservation and enhancement into projects where national legislation is insufficient, or where significant biodiversity assets are present.​

Even on projects that are not required to follow IFC Performance Standards, we incorporate their best practice principles into our advice and planning at every stage of the development process. This includes ensuring that the ‘Mitigation Hierarchy’ of first avoiding and minimising impacts on biodiversity at every opportunity, before going on to mitigate and offset them, is used.

By undertaking Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) and biodiversity-specific documentation, including Critical Habitat Assessments and Biodiversity Offset Strategies, we aim to secure commitments to biodiversity net gain on all the projects that we provide ecological advice on.

Other internationally recognised best practice that we incorporate into project planning and design where relevant, includes:

• IUCN Protected Area Management Category guidelines on projects that have the potential to impact on IUCN Protected Areas
• UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme guidelines in regions containing areas of high biodiversity that are not already in formally protected areas.

Using these as the foundation for our strategic planning advice has enabled us to create regional environmental zoning plans that guide development away from high biodiversity areas and help to protect them in the long-term, whilst facilitating development in less sensitive areas.