Equator Principles: Version 4

Norton Rose Fulbright advised the Equator Principles Association (EPA) as counsel for the legal review of the fourth Equator Principles (EP4).

The Equator Principles (EPs) are a sustainability risk management framework for projects financed by the financial institutions that have adopted the Equator Principles (EPFIs) but in practice are being adopted more widely. The EPs provide a framework and a minimum standard for financial institutions to identify, assess and manage the environmental and social risks and impacts of projects both prior to entering into project financing documentation as well as throughout the project lifetime.

The EPs apply globally across all industry sectors and are applicable to certain financial products (subject to value thresholds) offered by the EPFIs. Currently the EPs have been adopted by 101 financial institutions across 38 countries. EP4 strengthen the requirements for EPFIs to consider the potential environmental and social risks and impacts of projects mainly in the area of human rights, climate change and biodiversity. In this piece we take an indepth look at the implications of Version 4 for both lenders and borrowers: https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-gb/knowledge/publications/60909a05/equator-principles-version-4-released-norton-rose-fulbright