25541 - First Jamaica

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Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Number

25541

Company Name

First Jamaica Investments Limited

Date ESRS Disclosed

May 23, 2007

Country

Jamaica

Region

Latin America and the Caribbean

Last Updated Date

Nov 30, 2016

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Status

Completed

Previous Events

Approved : Jun 24, 2008
Signed : Jun 25, 2008
Invested : Mar 30, 2010

Sector

Construction and Real Estate

Industry

Tourism, Retail and Property

Department

Gbl Ind, Manufact, Agribus & Services

Project Description

First Jamaica Investments Limited (FJI or the company) is an investment holding company with investments in the real estate sector through a majority stake (100% ownership) in Jamaica Property Company Limited (JPC) and minority stakes in several real estate companies, as well as portfolio investments in bonds and equities. JPC owns and operates landmark commercial and residential properties in Kingston.

JPC is currently considering developing a number of residential and commercial real estate projects in Kingston, as well as upgrading of their existing properties.

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

The review of this project consisted of appraising technical, environmental, health, safety and social information provided by the company, and a field visit in March 2007. The environmental and social (E&S) specialist visited the headquarters of the company in Kingston, two commercial buildings and a plaza in Kingston. The E&S specialist eld meetings with senior management of First Jamaica.

E & S Project Categorization and Applicable Standard

While all Performance Standards are applicable to this investment, IFC’s environmental and social due diligence indicates that the investment will have impacts that must be managed in a manner consistent with the following Performance Standards (PS):

- PS1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems
- PS2: Labor and Working Conditions
- PS3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement
- PS4: Community Health, Safety and Security
- PS5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement

Buildings are located in urban areas. There are no protected species or protected areas at or near the operations. There are no indigenous people in the area. The proposed project has no impact on cultural heritage.

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

First Jamaica complies with the host country laws and regulations in relation to environmental and social impacts, and plans to ensure compliance with IFC environment and social performance standards; and the IFC/WBG environmental, health and safety guidelines. The company’s current operations, as well as planned measures to address potential impacts from new projects are summarized below.

Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems:

- Environmental and Social Assessment:

First Jamaica uses internal experts to conduct environmental and social (E&S) assessments for the development, construction and operation of new developments in accordance with Jamaican regulatory requirements. The main agency managing environmental management is the National Environmental and Planning Agency (NEPA), which is responsible for reviewing the EA’s and providing the appropriate permits. All environmental, health and safety and social permits required by national law are obtained for each step of the process before First Jamaica proceeds to the next step. First Jamaica will undertake E&S assessments for all future development projects in order to comply with IFC performance standards. The assessment will consider the potential environmental and social risks and impacts of the projects, including construction.

- Management Systems and Organization:

First Jamaica places responsibility for environmental and social management under the responsibility of the General Manager and the CEO. While the top management’s continued supervision is critical, in parallel with implementation of new projects, the company plans to create a central function to ensure the development and implementation of:

- a corporate social and environmental policy that will enable the company’s future projects to following the IFC Performance Standards, IFC/WBG environmental, health and safety guidelines, and national laws; and
- clear procedures for identifying, monitoring and reporting of environmental and social performance which includes occupational health and safety, life and fire safety, energy efficiency, land acquisition, and water usage.

First Jamaica plans to expand its existing training on fire safety and equipment maintenance to cover areas such as energy efficiency, water usage and life and fire safety.

There is no requirement for disclosure of environmental and social information associated with residential and commercial buildings, under Jamaican laws. For future projects, First Jamaica will make its environmental and social assessment documents publicly available and display contact information at its site for enquiries of its operations.

Labor and Working Conditions:

- Human Resources Policy and Management:

First Jamaica has a Human Resources policy and manual which specifies the terms of employment and working conditions at the company. Copies of the handbook are available to all employees. All policies, procedures and guidelines follow Jamaican labor law. First Jamaica will continue to work with contractors to enable compliance with national law and IFC Performance Standards.

- Occupational health and safety (OHS):

Safety and security awareness and preparedness is a top priority at First Jamaica management and operators and is managed by the General Manager. In this regard, First Jamaica will expand its monitoring of health and safety performance for all new and existing operations. As First Jamaica uses contractors for many of its operations, it will continue to work with these contractors to ensure compliance with national law and IFC guidelines on occupational health and safety.

Pollution Prevention and Abatement:

- Effluent treatment and disposal:

First Jamaica''s activities do not generate industrial liquid waste. National law does not require commercial or residential buildings to have a wastewater treatment plant, if municipal sewer system is available in the area. Domestic liquid waste (e.g. sanitary) generated at commercial and residential buildings are discharged to the municipal sewer system. First Jamaica has permits from the municipal authority and pays a yearly fee. Any future project will need to meet IFC/WBG guidelines on effluent treatment and disposal.

- Air emissions:

Air emissions come from back-up diesel generators. The sizes of the generators are less than 1,000 kVA and the company is committed to maintain these units according to manufacturer specification, and ensure maximum efficiency.

- Use of asbestos-containing building materials:

First Jamaica confirmed that asbestos-containing materials are not used in the construction of commercial and residential buildings.

- Potable water and energy supplies:

Potable water and energy are supplied by public sources. Potable water is monitored at their operations to ensure national standards are met. The projects should meet WHO standards for portable water. As part of its monitoring of environmental performance, First Jamaica will review energy use and identify and implement possible energy efficiency measures.

- Solid waste:

Solid waste is collected and disposed by the local municipal system.

Community Health, Safety and Security:

- Community health, safety and security:

First Jamaica''s priority is to ensure the health, safety and security of clients, tenants and surrounding community. Security guards are used in all buildings. These are subcontracted and managed by an experienced company, which has ensured appropriate procedures are in place and constant training is provided to all security guards.

- Fire prevention and emergency preparedness and response:

First Jamaica conduct annual drills for fire fighting, and natural disasters at all their operations. Fire safety inspections are done once a year by local fire safety authorities. First Jamaica will also update its emergency preparedness and response plan at all existing and new operations. As part of this investment, First Jamaica plans to expand the evaluation of its existing and new operations, and check compliance with IFC Life and Fire Safety Guidelines to ensure conformity with it. Corrective actions will be implemented accordingly.

- Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement:

First Jamaica will develop a land acquisition procedure to ensure compliance with Performance Standard 5 (PS5). From information gathered no past projects have involved involuntary resettlement. However, future projects might have the risk of invoking PS5. As part of this investment, the company will follow IFC requirements where projects involve land acquisition or resettlement, including, as appropriate, working with the national and local government agencies.

Stakeholder Engagement

First Jamaica is actively working on improving the green areas around their commercial buildings in Kingston. They are collaborating with local government and other real state companies to ensure a safe working environment for tenants and for the broader community. They support the Caribbean Business Club providing infrastructure for members to share business opportunities. With regards to environmental and social assessment information of projects, this is not disclosed to nearby communities and consultation is done through client surveys. First Jamaica will publicly disclose environmental and social information for future projects. Public consultation and disclosure will be carried out in a manner appropriate to the scale and impacts of the project.

Project documents may be physically viewed at:

Pan Jamaican Investment Trust Limited
The Pan Caribbean Building
60 Knutsford Boulevard
Kingston 5
Jamaica

Website: www.jamaicaproperty.com

Questions regarding environmental and social issues can be addressed to the following contact details:

Mr. Stephen Facey, Chief Executive Officer
First Jamaica Investments Limited
The Pan Caribbean Building
60 Knutsford Boulevard
Kingston 5
Jamaica

Telephone: (876) 929-4510
Fax: (876) 929-5766
E-mail: stephenfacey@jamaicaproperty.com

**Information on IFC's Policy and Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability can be found at www.ifc.org/sustainability

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) is prepared by IFC to disclose its findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding potential investments. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC's activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this ESRS is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein.
It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors' consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following ESRS is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP).

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

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