Environmental and social audits in existing facilities

HBCD Phase-out Management and Mitigation

Aligning with the sixth Conference of Parties (COP6) and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, in 2016 China issued a notice of intention to prohibit the production of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD/foam) and remove existing polystyrene and extruded polystyrene exemptions by 2021.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and China's Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center (FECO) jointly created the HBCD Phase-out Management Project, including establishing the Global Environment Fund (GEF) to assist these large enterprises with the transition.

FECO brought us in to conduct the initial environmental and social audits on existing facilities. We also performed environmental and social impact assessments for GEF-funded projects. Both the audits and assessments followed the UNIDO's Environmental and Social Safeguard policies and procedures.

From these findings, we created environmental and social management plans that helped these enterprises develop mitigation plans for their facilities, addressing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and assisting China in meeting its COP6 obligations.