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Review of the Equator Principles – Phase IV – Progress Update
7 June, 2019 EP News
The EPA continues to make progress towards the development of updated Equator Principles ‘EP4’ text. The legal review of the draft text, conducted by Norton Rose Fulbright, has now been completed.
The external stakeholder consultation phase has been delayed whilst we completed an enhanced internal consultation and approval processes, particularly on changes to Principle 5. It is anticipated that the public consultation process will now take place from early July once the draft text has been approved for public release by the Association members.
BSR has been engaged to conduct this external engagement on behalf of the EPA and will facilitate a series of webinars as well as face-to-face sessions for a sub-set of invited participants, where stakeholders can provide feedback on the proposed changes. The online form on the Equator Principles website is also available for any member of the public wishing to provide feedback.
The BSR-led public consultation will focus on the specific changes proposed in the targeted update, namely: Social impact and human rights, Climate change, Designated Countries and Applicable Standards, and Scope of applicability of the EPs. The full draft EP4 text will be made available in advance on the website so that all interested parties can provide informed comment. Feedback deemed beyond the scope of EP4 will be noted for consideration as part of subsequent EP revisions or complementary efforts such as Governance Rules changes.
Following the completion of the external consultation process, the Association will take stakeholders’ views and expectations into consideration to see where these could be incorporated into the EPs or other mechanisms, as appropriate. Following a final legal review and approval by the EPA, the final EP4 text is due to be launched in late 2019. A transition period will then follow to allow EPFIs time to implement EP4 within their institutions.
At any time, any interested stakeholder may submit feedback and sign up to be alerted when any EP review updates, including the draft text, are posted via: https://equator-principles.com/ep4/.