PS5 does not apply because all the new houses will be developed on land already owned by the company which has been acquired on a willing-buyer willing-seller basis and did not involve any involuntary resettlement; this approach will similarly apply to future developments going forward. PS6 does not apply because the houses are being developed in urban areas on modified habitat with no significant biodiversity value. PS7 does not apply because the project will not cause adverse impacts to indigenous peoples. Finally, PS8 does not apply as there is no known cultural heritage issues in the project area.  Vinte does however have a chance find procedure as part of the overall company management system                                                  

 This is a category B project according to IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability because a limited number of specific E&S impacts may result from project activities that can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines or design criteria as is described in the following sections. The main potential E&S, health and safety risks and issues associated with the proposed project are related to: effective application of E&S management systems during construction and development of housing projects; fair and safe working conditions for the employees as well as contractors including occupational health and safety; resource efficiency measures; management of wastes and emissions, including disposal; and stakeholder engagement. As an existing IFC client Vinte has demonstrated the ability and commitment to address the issues identified above

 Vinte has developed a sustainability committee that aims to drive further sustainability efforts related to its operations and products, covering administration, construction, urban developments and houses. It has identified for each element the relevant certification, standard or performance level that guides its objectives on each element and has developed an implementation schedule. These initiatives include, to name some: lean construction, ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety, OHS), Socially Responsible Enterprise, LEED, etc.

The company’s internal procedures and management programs related to E&S matters incorporate the basic elements of an ESMS and require enhancement. Thus, as part of the ESAP the ESMS will be improved to ensure full alignment with IFC’s requirements; detailed in this regard are provided below and in the sections that follow.

Vinte relies on regional-level (Strategic Business Units) management to address E&S risks arising in each specific region where projects are developed such as that related to: environmental permitting, waste management, occupational health and safety (OHS), land acquisition and management of wastewater.

Policy

The company has a commitment to develop projects that minimize impacts to the environment and presents this as a selling point and differentiator when compared to competitors. Vinte implemented an Environmental and Social Responsibility Policy, defining the environmental and social objectives and principles that guide Vinte activities to achieve sound environmental and social performance and has been communicated to all individuals within the organization.

Identification of Risks and Impacts

The company develops and implements projects with due considerations to environmental and social risks. For each project Vinte hires third-party firms to develop an environmental impact assessment (EIA; Manifestación de Impacto Ambiental, MIA) following the requirements established by the state environmental authority. The authority then reviews the assessment and provides a decision on the project; assuming approval, an environmental license (Resolutivo Ambiental) is issued which includes recommendations and mitigation measures.   These recommendations are presented in the environmental license.

Management Programs

Vinte has developed E&S policies and procedures to manage issues related to: human resources, environmental, health and safety training, client communications and land acquisition, amongst others. Construction managers are responsible for ensuring that construction activities are undertaken in accordance with the requirements specified in the EIAs. As per ESAP #1, Vinte will complement its current procedures by developing additional programs to systematically manage environmental aspects related to construction activities for each housing development, i.e., solid waste management (hazardous and non-hazardous), dust control, noise, water use and on-site sanitation, and will ensure that there is an employee responsible at corporate level to monitor implementation.

Organizational Capacity and Competency

For each region or business unit there is an employee in charge of ensuring that all the necessary environmental permits and requirements for each state are fulfilled. These employees have relevant experience on housing projects and are acquainted with state regulations. For each construction site, there is: a construction site manager, an occupational health and safety (OHS) and first aid officer (paramédico y enfermero industrial), that oversee safe working practices and conditions. Construction site managers are responsible for implementing environmental requirements of the environmental license.

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Vinte has civil protection plan in line with local requirements for each development, which contain guidelines to respond to earthquakes, fires, first-aid emergencies. The company performs annual emergency drills at its offices and active construction sites for fire and earthquake emergencies. There are active fire brigades, first aid brigades, and evacuation brigades for each construction and office site. Offices and construction sites are equipped with fire extinguishers and are regularly maintained. Each construction site manager, with the support of the OHS/first aid officer are responsible to respond to medical emergencies. During 2019, Vinte provided training to personnel on first aid, evacuation, and fire response, among others; and undertook emergency drills for several emergency types. As per the ESAP, Vinte will complement emergency response procedures on its Civil Protection Program, to include all construction activities, so as to be able to respond to all potential emergencies e.g. medical, fire etc. as per PS1 requirements (ESAP#2).

Monitoring and Review

Vinte systematically collects and OHS statistics from its operation which is compiled, analyzed and reported to the relevant authorities periodically and is then reviewed by management. Vinte’s construction site managers and industrial nurses undertake periodic supervision and monitoring visits to ensure environmental management requirements as per the environmental license are being applied. The company will further update the procedure for monitoring and review of E&S aspects, by developing and tracking key performance indicators (KPI) to measure progress towards E&S objectives and reporting to Vinte management (ESAP #3).

 Human Resource Policies and Procedures

As of May 2020, Vinte has 2,447 employees of which 1,502 are construction workers, and  698 (29%) are women across its active projects, and 538 contractors hired for specialized tasks. Vinte is an equal opportunity employer and has clearly defined policy on non-discrimination and equal opportunity and does not discriminate when hiring new employees or when considering promotions, as required by federal law. It has a Human Resource Policy that is distributed and discussed with all employees during the induction process that defines working hours, compensation and leave benefits, no-tolerance of harassment, conflict of interests, training and development and other HR rules and procedures and benefits. Nevertheless, Vinte will formalize its consideration and management of gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) by enhancing its Ethics Code and grievance mechanism to reduce these risks (ESAP #4).

Vinte has developed a training and development policy, which articulates guidelines and responsibilities on this matter. However, the company’s HR procedures can be improved and thus, as part of the ESAP #5, Vinte will develop and implement procedures to ensure that employees are periodically trained in matters related to: the grievance mechanism, discrimination and anti-sexual harassment, and occupational health and safety; this will be tailored to office and construction employees alike.

Employees are payed on time and salaries and benefits, as well as working schedules, comply with local regulations. All employees are registered in the social security system. They are also free to join unions and the majority belong to the state construction employees’ unions. Each site has contact information for union representatives in case employees need to reach out to them. Construction workers are hired based on construction demand and skills. Vinte ensures that each of them is on-boarded administratively (social security) and on safety and civil protection matters before being allowed to perform work on site. 

There is a documented grievance mechanism and employees can submit grievances through their direct supervisors, human resources (HR) representatives or through the Ethics Line (Línea de Ética) available to all employees, which allows for anonymous complaints, but mostly targeted to office employees. As per the ESAP#6, the company will develop and communicate during induction and periodically, a procedure for allowing grievance mechanism access to construction contractors.

Occupational Health and Safety

Vinte provides construction workers with the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and relevant training, and its contractors are contractually required to use it on Vinte projects. There are programs in place for accident prevention, health and safety, in collaboration with local health authorities. These programs provide for regular training to administrative and construction workers. Additionally, Vinte has established employee brigades for first aid, fire prevention and evacuation.

Working conditions for both contractor and Vinte employees on each construction site are supervised by the site manager and an OHS officer. While there has been no fatal accidents in the past years, the overall Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) for construction employees is 21.29 injuries per million hours worked, higher than the benchmark for the industry of 8.5. Vinte recognizes this issue and has agreed to implement effective measures so as to improve its OHS performance, as described under ESAP #7.

Workers have access to adequate sanitation facilities on construction sites. The company coordinates with the state OHS office and facilitates the provision of health awareness and workplace safety campaigns for its employees.  During the past year there were 65 campaigns and 3,257 employees participated. Topics included: early detection of cancer, diabetes and hypertension; vaccination and first aid; among others. No workers are accommodated on any construction sites and there are areas designated for eating.

In response to the risks to the COVID19 pandemic, Vinte has reduced activities in some developments and shifted towards finishing houses, rather than early development of new projects. While Vinte did reduce construction activities, it expects to be designated as an essential activity and will continue taking measures of social distancing, periodic related safety and hygiene communications, among others for continued operations during pandemic period. For administrative personnel, it has implemented remote working arrangements. While contractor work has been reduced temporarily, Vinte does not envision any retrenchment at this time.

Workers Engaged by Third Parties

As noted above, contractor employees undertake land preparation activities and associated infrastructure to these developments (schools, water tanks, roads and water pipelines). Contractors undergo induction safety trainings and are contractually required by Vinte to follow local regulations in regards to labor and environmental protection                                                  

  Resource Efficiency

One of Vinte’s competitive advantages and leadership in the housing market is its emphasis on building houses that are water and energy efficient. Vinte does this by focusing on research and development of new sustainable materials that reduce construction material inputs and by incorporating water and energy efficient fixtures on its houses. As of May 2020, Vinte has built about 3,992 EDGE-certified houses (including 3,916 EDGE homes certified between 2019 and 2020, of which 147 achieved an EDGE Advanced certification with more than 40% energy savings). Vinte has also been awarded several design and architectural awards for its developments. The company also offers, through one of its division, a wide array of energy and water saving measures to homeowners and educates them on these matters, so they can be acquired and installed conveniently; the latter is facilitated by Vinte. Additionally, the company has equipped some of its developments with solar powered lightning for common areas and has several other programs that focus on energy and resource efficiency.

Water

As mentioned earlier, all Vinte developments undergo an assessment of environmental impacts, including the sourcing of water for construction activities and subsequent water supply for housing developments. Water for construction is normally transported to site via trucks or provided by on-site wells which are permitted by the relevant municipal authority. Housing complexes source its water for its operation either from wells permitted by the relevant municipal authority or from municipal supply connections. On some of its developments (e.g. Real Verona, Real del Cid, Real Toscana), Vinte has been making efforts to reuse water from the housing complex’s wastewater treatment plant for irrigation purposes. In some developments, water reuse has been up to 30%.

Greenhouse Gases, Air Emissions and Ambient Air Quality

GHG emissions for Vinte operations are due to fuel consumption for construction activities, electricity usage at construction sites and in office activities; and are expected to be less than 25,000 tons of CO2e/year.

With regard to dust control during construction, the company implements adequate measures (e.g. water spraying, covering bulk material) to reduce dust, as specified on environmental permits.

Wastes & Wastewater

Vinte designs and develops its housing complexes with considerations for wastewater treatment and disposal as defined via the relevant EIA and state regulations. Depending on the local setting, Vinte’s solution in regards to wastewater treatment could be: (i) constructing a dedicated wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) exclusively for the complex; (ii) coordinate with nearby developments and share the cost and construction responsibilities for a WWTP with other developments, or (iii) coordinate with municipal WWTP plants to collect and treat the complex’s effluents in exchange for payments. In all cases Vinte arrangements comply with local pre-treatment standards for sanitary wastewater discharges.

Vinte´s general approach to stormwater management is to build infiltration ponds on its developments, which naturally filter water to the required standard and recharge underground aquifers. The infiltration ponds water quality is periodically monitored to ensure regulatory compliance.

Hazardous Materials

Conventional construction waste is disposed appropriately in an area designated by each municipality. Maintenance of construction equipment and vehicles is done outside the project area and fuels, lubricants and other hazardous wastes is disposed appropriately.

  Community Health and Safety

The main risks that Vinte housing developments have for the communities in the vicinity of the project area relate to traffic, noise and dust during construction phase, which are managed and supervised by construction supervisors in accordance with construction license conditions. Nearby communities may approach construction sites with concerns, which will be processed and responded to through Vinte’s public communication channels (see stakeholder engagement section below).

Infrastructure and Equipment Design and Safety

As part of the permitting process, the housing and future buildings have the relevant structural design safety reviews and approval by local authorities. In regard to life and fire safety, Vinte housing projects comply with Mexican fire safety codes, both in design and construction materials used                                                 

During the land acquisition change of zoning ordinances processes, Vinte undertakes public consultations as required by local laws. Public consultation is also undertaken as part of the EIA’s completion. In addition, Vinte has offices in each of its developments to address potential customers and public enquires, and they can use phone lines, suggestion boxes, email or walk-in on each of its sites to communicate with Vinte. The company has an internal procedure to process and respond to enquiries from the public.

  Contact Person:

Company Name: Vinte Viviendas Integrales SAB de CV

Gonzalo Pizzuto Azzar

Finance Director

Downtown Santa Fe, Av. Santa Fe 428, Torre 1, Piso 12, Oficina 1201, Col. Alcaldía Cuajimalpa, Ciudad de México, México. C.P. 05349

T: +52 (55) 5010-7360             

E: gonzalo.pizzuto@vinte.com

W: www.vinte.com