27426 - CH-Barbados

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Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Number

27426

Company Name

Caribe Hospitality of Barbados Limited

Date ESRS Disclosed

Jun 20, 2008

Country

Barbados

Region

Latin America and the Caribbean

Last Updated Date

Jun 3, 2021

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Status

Completed

Previous Events

Approved : May 14, 2007
Signed : May 15, 2007
Invested : Jul 31, 2009

Sector

City and Business Hotel

Industry

Agribusiness and Forestry

Department

Regional Industry MAS LAC & EUR

Project Description

The project is the construction and operation of a 118-guest room hotel to be branded “Marriott Courtyard” which will be built on a 12,000 square meters property which is located on the main road to Hastings (Highway 7) Christ Church, approximately 2km from Bridgetown, Barbados. The project site also includes a historic building “The Pavillion” which is currently in use as an office building, and a recently built TGI Friday’s restaurant. The project is being developed by Caribe Hospitality of Barbados Ltd (the company).

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

IFC undertook a desk review of this project. Documents reviewed were answers by the company and the Sponsor to an environmental and social questionnaire submitted by IFC, permission granted by the Barbados Town and Country Planning Office to develop the land by building the project subject to certain conditions, project approval, again conditional, granted by the Barbados Environmental Protection Department, and a permit, also from the Town and Country Planning Office to remove four trees from the project site. Questions arising after review of these documents were clarified through an email and telephone exchange with the project sponsor.

It should also be noted that proposed IFC funding for this project would be supplied under the terms of a Facility Agreement already defined between IFC and the Sponsor, and this would be the second development by Caribe Hospitality (the sponsor) under the terms of this agreement, the first being a Residence Inn hotel being developed in San Jose, Costa Rica. Environmental disclosure documents for the Costa Rica hotel project may be found at the following link:

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 which must be managed in a manner consistent with the following Performance Standards:

- PS1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems;
- PS2: Labor and Working Conditions;
- PS3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement;
- PS4: Community Health, Safety and Security;
- PS8: Cultural Heritage

It was determined after review that issues described by the other Performance Standards are not encountered in this project for the following reasons:

PS5: land was acquired through willing buyer/seller process from the previous private owner. No person or economic activity was displaced as a result of this transaction:
PS6: the land to be developed is located in a touristic and commercial area of the city and was a lawned area with no special biodiversity interest.
PS7: no indigenous peoples are encountered in the project area.

The key social and environmental issues associated with this project are community engagement and the planning process, management of environmental impacts and occupational health and safety during construction, equitable working conditions; energy and water use and discharge of waste water, minimization of solid waste and, life and fire safety.

This project has limited off-site social and environmental impacts and those there are may be mitigated by readily available techniques. This is therefore a Category B project according to IFC’s Environmental and Social Review Procedure.

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

The company has presented plans to address environmental and social impacts to ensure that the proposed project will, upon implementation of the agreed mitigation measures comply with the environmental and social requirements of the Barbados laws and regulations and IFC Performance Standards and applicable IFC Guidelines. These mitigation measures are described below.

- Social and Environmental Assessment:

No formal social and environmental assessment was completed, since this was not required by the not required by the Environmental Protection Department of the Ministry of Energy and the Environment of Barbados. However, the project was presented to this agency and was approved, subject to observation of certain conditions.

Expected impacts/risks in construction are not significant ones. They are local, reversible, and may be easily controlled through well known engineering techniques, such as dust and erosion control, good house keeping measures, such as proper solid waste management, and rigorous management of safety during construction.

- Management Program:

As required by Barbados Town and Country Development Planning Office a formal sediment, dust control and site management plan will be submitted to the Chief Town Planner prior to the clearance of any vegetation, removal of soil or commencement of any building or engineering operations. The plan shall make proper provision for the clearing of the site, the control of dust during all building and engineering phases of the development, the storage and/or disposal of cleared and spoilt material, and the storage and management of construction materials such as aggregates in a manner that would eliminate or minimize dust pollution and displacement by surface water runoff.

Environmental clauses will be included in all contracts to be signed for project execution. This will include compliance with all national regulations and Town and Country Development Planning Office and the Environmental Protection Department approval conditions. The General Contractor will be required to have at least one person responsible for environmental compliance at the site, who would in turn oversee the smaller sub-contractors compliance with the environmental requirements for the project. Permanent, ongoing supervision and corrective actions will be performed by the company. The company also fully expects the Environmental Protection Department to enforce the conditions of the development permit.

During construction, the company’s project manager will monitor compliance with all applicable environmental and social requirements of the Barbados authorities, Marriott and IFC and will be presented regularly to these authorities and to the project sponsor’s senior management. The Contractor will have responsibility for ensuring safety on the worksite, and will, for example, regularly check that proper sanitary facilities are installed, that cool, safe water is available to all workers, and that protective equipment is worn as required for noise protection (ear-plugs, etc.), dust protection (goggles, etc.), personal fall protection (life-lines, harnesses, etc.) and other more general protective equipment (steel toe boots, reflective vests, hard helmets, gloves, etc.)

During the project’s operational phase, the property will be managed by a Marriott team in full compliance with Marriott’s highly regarded social and environmental requirements.

The sponsor’s project manager was trained in application of the Performance Standards by IFC, and has incorporated Performance Standard requirements into project specifications and tendering documents. Marriott’s staff, who will have responsibility for ongoing hotel management have been trained under that company’s environmental program.

-Labor and Working Conditions:

The hotel will adopt the Human Resources policies of Courtyard by Marriott and the requirements of Barbadian law, and therefore will meet IFC’s Performance Standard 2 requirements. The hotel will use employees rather than contracted workers for all normally-required positions in the hotel.

The nature of the working relationship is communicated to potential employees during the recruitment process and confirmed in writing upon taking up employment. Salaries and non-salary benefits follow local norms.

The company would permit formation of a trades union should a majority of employees seek this.

Marriott has a policy of non-discrimination in employment and indeed promotes diversity among its workforce. These policies will be adopted for this project.

Potential employee grievances would be addressed through parallel mechanisms, line management, the property’s human resources channel and through the General Manager’s open door policy.

Retrenchment is not anticipated: this is a greenfield hotel project that will create employment.

Occupational health and safety in construction was described under the management system section. In operation, hazards are well known to the hotel operator, Marriott and will be managed according to that company’s well proven procedures.

- Emissions to Air:

Air emissions will arise from the small gas-fired boilers used to heat water: these will be insignificant. The hotel will not have a dry-cleaning facility. A 750 kVA generator will be provided, but for standby purposes only. Zero –ODP refrigerants will be adopted in air conditioning systems.

- Emissions to Water:
Sanitary waste water will be discharged to the municipal sewer for further treatment. Storm water will be directed to a soakaway as required by the planning authorities.

- Resource Efficiency:

The hotel will be design to be an efficient user of energy and water; this is an area to which Marriott devotes considerable attention. For example, efficient air conditioning systems and controls will be used, high efficiency lighting and low flow water-using applicances will be adopted.

- Solid and Hazardous Wastes:

Wastes generated will include food residues, and paper and plastic wastes, and maintenance residues such as used lubricants, oils and paints. These will be disposed to authorized municipal landfill and hazardous waste management contractors.

- Community Health and Safety:

The company has retained professional advice and has design the life and fire safety systems of the hotel to be fully compliant with NFPA, Barbadian and IFC requirements. Construction plans include an automatic sprinkler system plus hose panels in every floor, which will be supplied by a reservoir tank and a motor driven fire pump. Also, an fire alarm system has been implemented in the designs, considering smoke sensors in every room, hallways, public areas, etc, hose flow sensors, manual pull stations. A post-construction check will be undertaken of the correct installation and functioning of all fire protection equipment, and inspection routines will be developed and maintained.

Hurricane activity has also been considered in project design, by incorporating Miami Dade County’s hurricane zone requirements for roofs, exterior walls and windows (windows will be laminated impact resistant glass).

Monitoring and management programs to assure hygiene and safety of hot water systems, potable water systems and swimming pool water will be established following Marriott norms, with results reported to IFC.

- Cultural Heritage:

The project site includes The Pavillion. This is part of the Historic Garrison district which is a protected area and is part of the Barbados National Trust. It was built in 1808 as Hospital for the British Army. The building will not be affected by the project.

Stakeholder Engagement

There has not been any project-related community communication other than the presentation of the project master plan to Barbados Town and Country Development Planning Office and other related agencies. However when the project commences, this will be publicized by newspaper advertisement, and project details, including this ESRS and attachments will be published on a noticeboard to be erected at the site.

Any potential project-related complaints or concerns would usually be presented at the Barbados Town and Country Development and Planning Office by the citizens or affected 3rd parties, which in turn may notify Caribe Courtyard of the changes or recommendations needed to be performed, in a case by case basis. However, interested people will be able to contact the Developer directly with the information to be posted on the site noticeboard described above.

**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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