Investment Guidance

Due diligence: Research and analytics for informed, responsible decisions, reporting and compliance 

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Prior to entry

Risks start with licensing and exploration, but they don’t stop there. This phase is often neglected, planting the seeds of disputes. We capture the big picture and the subtle details. From political economy assessments and risk analysis, to FPIC strategies, hands-on community and government engagement, to feasibility studies and scenario modelling, we tell you everything you need to know to make decisions.

 

Ongoing operations

Understanding the constantly changing political, economic, and social contexts is crucial for operational viability, risk identification and competitiveness. It varies from project-to-project, even in the same country. Whether it’s risk modelling and assessments, deep listening, compliance, our expertise – informed by decades of on-the-ground experience in 70+ countries - helps companies, investors and financial institutions anticipate and prepare for the worst while positioning them for the best.

 

Economic & Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs)

Whether required by law, stock exchanges, responsible practice, or a company’s own codes and commitments, ESIAs are prerequisites for mining and renewable energy projects. Rather than building the trust of local communities and value chain players, ESIAs often seed disputes and create risks to projects. Our experts provide independent advice on ESIAs - whether planned, ongoing or conducted in the past - to ensure they have the support of host communities. We help you understand the potential and real social, economic and environmental impacts of projects and co-create robust mitigation and livelihood protection/recovery plans alongside host communities - all grounded in global best practices.

 

Stakeholder Engagement and Communication 

Communication is not an end in itself. It’s a tool for listening and engaging stakeholders, building relationships, keeping trust, telling stories and much more. Engaging stakeholders isn’t effective without thoughtful, culturally appropriate, politically aware, evidence-based, objectives-driven communication - delivered by people that stakeholders trust, using the channels that they prefer. Likewise, communication is often less effective without engagement. They go hand-in-hand.  We have decades of experience designing and helping implement communication and engagement strategies that get projects off on the right foot and keep them on track, or helping rebuild trust when it is degraded or lost, delivering mutually beneficial results throughout the project’s lifecycle.

 

Reporting and Compliance with social licences, policies, regulations, listing requirements, global standards & traditional values

Extractive industry companies and investors must - or are expected to - comply with a plethora of rules, requirements and expectations across jurisdictions and traditions. Some can be contradictory or duplicative. Those based on the values of indigenous communities and their measurement metrics can be counter-intuitive, hard to understand and tricky to comport with in practice. “Reporting” to traditional landowners is very different to completing templates and compiling detailed reports. We work together with you to – at minimum - ensure that your plans and operations adhere to your social licence obligations, as well as to your own codes and policies, local and international laws, regulations, listing requirements, and ethical standards for sustainable practices. We’ll happily work with you to be exemplary too - demonstrating that people- and nature-centred business is the most responsible,  but is the least risky way to operate.