Injecting International Best Practices into Social Impact

Mexico’s burgeoning utility-scale renewable energy projects have put a spotlight on the country’s social impact issues, demonstrating a clear need to adhere to the strengthened regulatory framework related to this specific issue. “Developing energy infrastructure projects requires collaboration, working hand in hand with local communities to identify the specific impacts of these projects on their day-to-day activities and local environment,” says Marinieves García-Manzano, Founding Partner at GMI Consulting.
García-Manzano commends the work of Rodolfo Salazar, Director General of Social Impact and Superficial Occupation at the Ministry of Energy, to enact a critical piece of legislation. “The Administrative Dispositions on Social Impact Assessments directly responds to the dire need to strictly adhere to international best practices regarding these assessments, standardizing the services of the social consulting sector,” she says. “Some kinks need to be worked out, such as how to proceed with geothermal projects and their exploration timeline, but in general terms, the level of the dispositions is highly satisfactory in addressing the issues that social impact assessments suffered from in the past.”

GMI Consulting is a Mexican consulting firm that combines technical, scientific and legal expertise related to its specialization in environmental, social and infrastructure assessments The firm’s methodology includes sending its research team to live in impacted communities. “This builds trust over time,” García-Manzano says. “The host family integrates the team into the community, providing an ideal condition to undertake true field work. It allows for an effective stakeholder-mapping of the community’s players and to identify all potential impacts of a specific project’s development. Based on this exhaustive research, we tailor a mitigation framework that company in charge of the project implements. The firm used industry associations to help shine a light on social impact issues and develop allies. By joining COPARMEX, COMENER, The Mexican Bar Association and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, to name a few, GMI Consulting was able to get the message across. “It allowed us to place social impact issues in the limelight at a time when nobody wanted to talk about it. It also proved to be a strategic tool when browsing for strategic alliances,” she says.

Based on García-Manzano’s experience, the common denominator when developing infrastructure projects in communities is the arrival of outsiders. “From high-impact extractive industries such as mining to low-impact industries such as PV, it is a shared issue. Mexico remains prey to insecurity and outsider workforces nurture this feeling of insecurity among local communities. From there, issues vary depending on the project. Dealing with misinformation and establishing effective communication filters is another critical issue. GMI Consulting conducts its evaluation according to the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) guidelines. We divide our evaluation between community fears and aspirations, followed by specific impacts, such as way of life and culture.”

While fears and aspirations do not necessarily represent a tangible impact derived from a project’s specific activity, they can be managed effectively with an airtight communication and linkage plan. “Communities need to know in full detail what the project is really about. The proven track record of the technology must be showcased. Other potential impacts can be managed by combining prevention, mitigation and compensation measures. The greater the number of preventive measures it includes, the more reliable the social impact assessment will be,” García-Manzano says. She considers the utility-scale PV farms developed by Atlas Renewable Energy to be leading examples of the successful implementation of social management programs. To capitalize on the strengthened regulatory framework relating to social impact assessments, GMI Consulting is designing a tool to follow up on its ongoing social management plans based on international best practices. “We are in talks to develop it as a joint venture with a software company. The Equator Principles ruling social impact assessments require the development of a social management system that translates a social management plan into a set of specific tasks, also granting the ability to manage complaints and following up on the commitments agreed with local communities,” says García-Manzano.