ESRS Standard
ESRS Standard
The term"Policy" is synonymous with the term"Policy", which is used within the German version of the ESRS Standard.
30 The entity shall disclose its policies for managing material impacts on affected communities, managing material risks and taking advantage of material opportunities related to affected communities, and the effectiveness of those policies.
31 This disclosure requirement has two Targets: The first is to provide an understanding of all actions and initiatives the company is taking to
a) works to prevent, mitigate and ameliorate significant negative impacts on Affected Communities; and/or
b) seeks to achieve significant positive impacts on affected communities.
The second is to provide an understanding of how the company manages Material risks and takes advantage of Material opportunities related to Affected Communities.
The company provides a summary description of the action plans and resources related to the management of its Material Impacts, Risks and Opportunities related to Affected Communities in accordance with ESRS 2 MDR-A Actions and resources related to Material Sustainability Aspects.
32 With regard to material impacts, the company describes the following:
(a) what actions have been taken, are planned or are underway to prevent or mitigate significant adverse impacts on Affected Communities,
b) whether and how it has taken actions to remedy or enable remediation of an actual material impact,
(c) any additional actions or initiatives it is undertaking primarily to achieve positive impacts on Affected Communities; and
(d) how it tracks and evaluates the effectiveness of these actions and initiatives in achieving the desired outcomes for Affected Communities.
33. in relation to paragraph 30, the company describes the following:
(a) the processes it uses to determine what actions are necessary and appropriate to respond to specific actual or potential adverse impacts on Affected Communities,
(b) its approach to taking actions in relation to specific material adverse impacts on communities, including any actions related to its own practices in relation to land acquisition, planning and development, and operations or closures, and whether further actions are required in relation to industry and cooperation with other relevant parties; and
(c) how it ensures that procedures for implementing or enabling mitigation measures in the event of significant adverse Impacts are available and effective in terms of their implementation and outcomes.
34. with regard to Material risks and Opportunities, the company describes:
(a) what actions are planned or have been taken to mitigate material risks to the company arising from its impacts and Dependencies related to Affected Communities, and how it tracks effectiveness in practice; and
b) what actions are planned or have been taken to address material opportunities for the company related to Affected Communities.
35 The company shall disclose whether and how it takes actions to prevent its own practices from having, or contributing to, significant negative impacts on Affected Communities, including, where appropriate, its practices related to land planning, acquisition and use, financing, extraction or production of Raw materials, use of natural resources and management of environmental impacts. This may include an indication of the approach taken to address tensions between the avoidance or mitigation of Impact materiality and other business pressures.
(36) The company also discloses whether any serious human rights issues and incidents have been reported in relation to Affected Communities and, where applicable. (122)
(37) In providing the information required under paragraph 32(d), when assessing the effectiveness of an action by setting a Targets, the company shall take into account the ESRS 2 MDR-T Tracking the effectiveness of policies and actions through Targets.
38. the company shall specify the resources allocated to the management of its Impact materiality, providing information that enables Users to understand how Impact materiality is managed.
Application Requirements (AR)
Application Requirements (AR)
AR 25. it may take some time to understand the adverse impacts and how the company may be exposed to them through the workforce in its Value chain, and to identify and implement appropriate responses. In this regard, the company shall consider the following:
(a) its general and specific approaches to addressing significant negative Impacts,
b) its social investments or other development programsdesigned to contribute to additional material positive impacts,
c) how far it has progressed with its efforts during the reporting period; and
d) its Targets for continuous improvement.
AR 26 The appropriate actions may vary depending on whether the company causes or contributes to material impacts, or whether the material impacts are directly linked to its activities, products or services through a business relationship.
AR 27. because material adverse impacts on Affected Communities that occur during the reporting period may also be associated with entities or activities outside of its direct control, the company may indicate whether and how it intends to use its business relationships leverage to address these impacts. This may include the use of business leverage (e.g., enforcing contractual requirements within business relationships or implementing incentives), other forms of leverage within the business relationship (e.g., training or capacity building on Indigenous peoples' rights for companies with which the company has business relationships), or collaboration with peer companies or other actors (e.g., initiatives to minimize security-related impacts on communities or participation in company-community partnerships).
AR 28. impacts on communities may be due to environmental concerns that the company discloses under ESRS E1 to E5. Examples include:
(a) ESRS E1 Climate change: implementation of climate change plans may require the company to invest in renewable energy projects that may impact Indigenous peoples' lands, territories and natural resources. If the company does not consult the affected indigenous community, this could affect the right of the affected communities to voluntary, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC);
b) ESRS E2 Pollution: The company may have negative impacts on Affected Communities, for example by not protecting them from polluting production facilities that cause health problems;
c) ESRS E3 Water and Marine resources: The company may have negative impacts on communities' access to clean drinking water by extracting water in areas of Water scarcity;
d) ESRS E4 Biodiversity and ecosystems: The company may have negative Impacts on the livelihoods of local farmers through activities that contaminate Soil. Other examples include the sealing of land through the construction of new infrastructure that eradicates plant species that are critical to, for example, local biodiversity or filtering water for communities, or the introduction of invasive species (plants or animals) that can impact ecosystems and cause damage;
e) ESRS E5 Resource use and Circular economy: The company may have negative impacts on the lives of communities by affecting their health through the improper management of Hazardous waste.
If the link between environmental impacts and local communities is addressed in the ESRS E1-E5 disclosure requirements, the company may refer to this information and clearly label these disclosures.
AR 29 If the company discloses its participation in an industry or multi-stakeholder initiative as part of its actions to address significant adverse impacts, it may also disclose how the relevant significant impacts will be addressed as part of the initiative and its own participation. Under ESRS S3-5, it may provide information on the relevant Targets of the initiative and progress towards achieving them.
AR 30 When disclosing whether and how the company considers the actual and potential impacts on affected communities when making decisions to terminate Business relationships and whether and how it seeks to ameliorate any negative impacts of termination, the company may provide examples.
AR 31 If the company discloses how it tracks the effectiveness of actions taken to address material impacts during the reporting period, it can provide any lessons learned from the previous and current reporting periods.
AR 32 The processes for tracking the effectiveness of Actions may include internal or external audits or reviews, legal proceedings and/or related court rulings, impact assessments, measurement systems, stakeholder feedback, Grievance mechanisms, external performance ratings and benchmarks.
AR 33 Effectiveness reporting should enable an understanding of the linkages between the actions taken by the organization and the effective management of impacts.
AR 34. with respect to initiatives or practices whose primary objective is to have a positive impact on affected communities based on their needs, and progress in implementing such initiatives or practices, the company may disclose the following:
(a) Information on whether and to what extent Affected Communities and Legitimate representatives or their Credible proxies are involved in decisions on the design and implementation of such programs or practices; and
(b) information on the intended or achieved positive results of such investments or programs for Affected Communities,
(c) an explanation of the approximate scope of the affected communities covered by the social investments or development programsdescribed and, where applicable, the reasons why selected communities were chosen for a particular social investment or the implementation of a development program.
AR 35 The company may indicate whether initiatives or practices whose primary objective is to have a positive impact on Affected Communities are also designed to support the achievement of one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, as part of a commitment to advance Sustainable Development Goal 5 "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls", the company could take thoughtful actions to include women in the consultation process with an affected community to meet the standards for effective stakeholder engagement, which can help to empower women in the process itself, but potentially also in their everyday lives.
AR 36. when reporting the intended or achieved positive results of the company's actions in relation to affected communities, distinguish between evidence that specific activities have taken place (e.g., x female community members have been offered training on how to become local suppliers for the company) and evidence of actual results for affected communities (e.g., x female community members have started small businesses and their contracts with the company have been renewed annually).
AR 37.
In indicating whether initiatives or practices also play a role in mitigating material adverse impacts, the company may consider, for example, programs aimed at improving local infrastructure around a company facility, such as road improvements that have led to a reduction in serious traffic accidents involving community members.
AR 38.
In disclosing the material risks and opportunities associated with the entity's Impacts or Dependencies related to Affected Communities, the entity may consider the following:
(a) Risks related to the company's Impacts on Affected Communities may include reputational, legal and operational risks if Affected Communities protest resettlement or loss of access to land, which may result in costly delays, boycotts or lawsuits.
b) Risks related to the company's dependencies on Affected Communities may include disruptions to operations if Indigenous peoples decide to withdraw their consent to a project on their land, forcing the company to significantly modify or abandon the project.
c) Opportunities related to the company's Impacts on Affected Communities may include projects that are easier to finance and the fact that the company is the first point of contact for communities, governments and other companies.
d) Opportunities related to the company's dependencies on Affected Communities may include the development of positive relationships between the company and Indigenous peoples that enable existing projects to be expanded with strong support.
AR 39 When disclosing the information in AR 38, the company may consider explanations of Risks and Opportunities arising from environmental impacts or Dependencies (see AR 28 for further details), including related human rights (or social) impacts. Examples include reputational risks arising from the impacts of unmanaged polluting Discharges on the health of communities, or the financial effects of protests that may disrupt or interrupt a company's operations, e.g. in response to actions in areas of Water scarcity that may impact the lives of affected communities.
AR 40 When disclosing information about whether Dependencies become Risks, the company shall consider external developments.
AR 41 When disclosing policies, actions, means and targets related to the management of material risks and opportunities, the company may cross-reference its disclosures on policies, actions, means and targets related to these impacts in cases where risks and opportunities arise from material impacts.
AR 42 The entity shall consider whether and how its processes for managing material risks related to Affected Communities are integrated with existing risk management processes.
AR 43 When disclosing the resources allocated to managing material impacts, the company may indicate which internal functions are involved in managing impacts and the types of actions it takes to address negative impacts and drive positive impacts.
Examples from past practice
Examples from past practice
Examples serve only as an indication of how a disclosure requirement has been reported by other companies to date. Audited ESRS reports are not yet available. There is no guarantee of accuracy and completeness.
S3-4 - Promoting responsible project development with a focus on communities
Our aim is to develop projects that have minimal negative impacts on local communities. We are already laying the foundations to systematically implement this approach in all our business functions, markets and projects. In doing so, we strive to go beyond the minimum legal requirements, as we are convinced that this approach is crucial to maintaining social trust and ensuring the long-term development of Renewable energy.
To meet the needs of the affected communities, we are implementing several targeted actions:
Developing globally applicable guidelines for social and human rights assessments at project level: these analyses are carried out before projects begin in order to identify potential Risks at an early stage and take preventative actions.
Introduction of a global standard for the systematic collection and processing of feedback and complaints: The aim of this action is to prevent negative impacts on communities throughout the project life cycle and to respond quickly to concerns from affected communities.
Developing corporate guidelines for responsible community engagement: Our guidelines are based on internationally recognized best practices and place particular emphasis on the principles of free, prior and informed consent to ensure that our engagement is respectful, ethical and in line with the rights of Indigenous peoples.
This article has been machine translated. In case of errors, please contact [email protected].