Knowledge Management for Environment and Natural Resource and Energy Compliance

IDG remains committed to the sustainable management of natural resources, improved environmental governance, and local capacity-building activities. The IDG team is comprised of highly qualified global leaders and has significant practical experience in natural resource management, economic growth and enterprise development, and building better governance structures.

Access to Modern Energy Service: Power Economics and Social Development

IDG can provide services designed to improve energy generation and utilization in developing countries, with a particular focus on regions where large swaths of the population crave electrification (such as Sub Saharan Africa - SSA). Few aspects of development intervention contribute more to poverty reduction, economic growth and country capacity than rational power policies and planning; broad, equitable distribution of available power supply; and insurance of cost effective energy management.

The core components of IDG's economic growth practice apply to the energy sector, fitting seamlessly with the company's focus on program design, implementation, monitoring, measurement and lessons learned. Our energy services can extend to facilitating implementation of energy transactions, propelling the financing gateway through which new power projects must pass, instituting frameworks and networks to ensure stakeholder inclusivity, and building public-private partnerships that optimize energy harnessing.

In SSA, economic problems are particularly acute, borne often of the failure of governments to marshal indigenous natural resources or import sources to create an energy policy that inexpensively serves both urban and rural environments.

Specifically IDG has the ability to provide the following services:

• Identify potentially promising power transactions, covering a range of population groups, and near-term and longer-term.

• Conduct rigorous project appraisal / cost-benefit analysis to determine the viability of the project

• Match private investors to projects that meet return objectives, overcome likely obstacles, satisfy public expenditure requirements, and broadly close energy gaps in coverage.

• Advise governments on whether to financially support the project given the impact on the population, and given alternative projects

• Make recommendations regarding financing, including any finance-related measures to mitigate risks of investors and donors.

• Identify potential investors, shop opportunities, and assist governments to promote to potential investors.

• Support any tender processes to select investors.

• Identify legal and regulatory impediments to deals, and assist governments in addressing.

• Support dialogue broadly with the government, donors, and civil society.

• Provide institutional capacity building as needed.

• Support any efforts to reduce electricity theft, increase payment for electricity, improve collection processes, and introduce pre-payment equipment.

• Provide any strategic support needed on grid master plan and energy policy generally

Project Experience:

Azerbaijan Competitiveness and Trade Project: In Azerbaijan, IDG worked with agricultural value chains using methodologies that incorporate awareness of best agricultural environmental practices. IDG used its environmental and compliance expertise to develop a Pesticide Evaluation Report and Safe Use Action Plan (PERSUAP) with recommended strategies to support integrated pest management for each of its target sectors including hazelnut, pomegranate and apple. As part of its approach to implement good sustainable agricultural environmental practices, IDG identified regional Business Development Services (BDS) providers in various regions to participate in train-the-trainer workshops on pesticide rates, water usage and Tree Row Volume. This work also included the harmonizing of food safety standards in Azerbaijan with Codex Alimentarius and International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) standards to improve compliance with international safety requirements and quality standards (including environment) and developing a harmonization and conversion plan for converting mandatory requirements to technical regulations and voluntary standards.

Tripoli Special Economic Zone Project: IDG implemented a comprehensive, best-practice Master Plan that prioritized environmental concerns by using low-carbon philosophy in the design of environmentally sensitive and responsive infrastructure in the SEZ and by closely investigating environmental laws and decrees in force in Lebanon pertaining to TSEZ. The Feasibility Study included a comprehensive Environment Protection Plan (EPP) which defined the roles of the TSEZ Authority, the private developer, the TSEZ tenants, and – where relevant – government agencies such as the Ministry of Environment (MOE) in protecting the natural environment, safety, and occupational health in the TSEZ. The EPP proposed mitigation, management, monitoring, and institutional measures that should be implemented in order to eliminate, offset, or reduce the environmental impacts of activities during construction and operation of the TSEZ. By encouraging the development and use of environmentally friendly and green technology throughout the TSEZ, the Plan resulted in branding TSEZ as one of the first low-carbon economic zones.