PS5 on Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement does not apply to the project since all land acquisition was conducted through willing buyer-willing seller transactions (i.e., market transactions in which the seller is not obliged to sell, and the buyer cannot resort to expropriation or other compulsory procedures if negotiations fail). In addition, no impacts for this project are expected which must be managed in accordance with PS6: Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Natural Resources, PS7: Indigenous Peoples and PS8: Cultural Heritage.

Category B project. IFC funds will go to recapitalize a 52MWp solar power plant operational since 2015 in Thailand. The Lopburi solar plant is approximately 140km North of Bangkok in an agricultural landscape with limited social or environmental risks that are mitigated.

Policy and Environmental and Social Management System

SSP at a group level has a Sustainability Development Policy in place that has commitments related to environmental, social and governance standards. The Policy covers social responsibility, protection of human rights (including commitments related to forced labor and child labor) and resource efficiency and pollution prevention. In order to ensure that E&S management issues are addressed at the project level, SPN will be required to prepare a Environment and Social Management System (ESMS) to comply with the IFC PS as well as require and develop project specific E&S management program for the Project [ESAP #1].

Identification of Risks and Impacts

The Project has undertaken an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) for the solar site. The IEE addressed E&S risks pertinent to the Project, including land acquisition, land, air, water and noise related risks and social related matters and is consistent with the requirements of PS1. Measures relating to management of E&S risks were identified as the major gaps, including the lack of an ESMS, management of the supply chain for solar panels, as well as labour and working conditions and ongoing community engagement. These items are further explored below and are subject to specific ESAP items.

Supply Chain

SPN currently does not have a specific Supplier Code of Conduct or supply chain management system (SCMS) that assesses risks within their supply chain, specifically for the supply of replacement solar panels. The sole supplier of the panels does however maintain a comprehensive Code of Conduct that manages risks in relation to the management of labor practices, health and safety, and other E&S risks. The approach applied includes verification of the supply chain with regular audits and follow up to ensure compliance. In order to ensure that SPN complies with IFC PS1 and PS2, a Supplier Code of Conduct [ESAP #2] including basic SCMS, supplier mapping, verification, monitoring and reporting information to IFC, is to be prepared to ensure that the supply chain arrangements can be maintained during the life of the Project, especially if solar panel supply is reprocured and an alternative source is selected. 

Organizational Capacity and Competency

SPN currently requires existing staff to implement E&S Policies at a group and site level.  In order to clarify roles and ensure ongoing implementation of E&S requirements, dedicated staff and resources at a SSP and provision of clear roles and responsibilities at SPN site level will be required. The dedicated staff will be experienced in managing environmental, social, and occupational health and safety aspects in line with IFC’s Performance Standards and be responsible for the development and implementation of the revised E&S management program [ESAP #3]. Training of staff will also be required, focussing on OHS management, emergency planning, environmental monitoring, stakeholder engagement as well as implementation of an appropriate grievance mechanism [ESAP #4]. A dedicated E&S management plan for the project is to be developed and implemented [as required by ESAP #1].  During the operation phase of the project, environmental, labor compliance and OHS aspects will be primarily handled by the EPC and/or O&M contractors, however SPN are to dedicate personnel and resources to supervise Contractors and implement the E&S management plan to ensure compliance with E&S requirements.

COVID-19 Impact:

There has been no significant health impact due to COVID-19 on the workforce at SPN Solar’s facilities. The approach has complied with the government requirements, including regular monitoring of the workforce, and isolation protocols.

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Emergency preparedness and response planning is performed at the operating facility (subproject) level. The emergency plans are only focused on fire response; however, consideration of other emergencies is required (medical, accident, severe weather, electrocution). The response plans include a communication protocol to alert local authorities and the management team in addition to specific responses and evacuation procedures. Under the revised E&S management program to be developed as per ESAP#1, will develop, and implement an emergency preparedness and response plan at all subprojects.

Monitoring and Review

SPN currently has a limited monitoring and review process at a site level with government required assessments implemented and reported at the site only.  To comply with IFC PS1, the E&S management program will include specific monitoring requirements for E&S risks as well as a reporting plan [as per ESAP#1].

The current employment of the project is 64 during operation, including three employees from SPN, 10 employees from Sharp O&M contractor, five outsourced security guards and 46 workers from PPN, the subcontractor at the site. The male to female ratio is 70:30.

Human Resources Policies and Procedures. The company manages labor aspects in line with Thailand Labor Law. At the project level, the company and contractors are required to manage labor aspects in line with regulatory requirements, which covers a range of issues including working hours, breaks and holidays, overtime and payment, salary, leave days, disciplinary procedure, grievance redress, and termination, among others. As set forth in ESAP #5, the company will update its Human Resources (HR) Policy/labor regulation in line with IFC PS2. The HR Policy will be communicated to all employees working within the company and its subsidiary and will have provisions for workers engaged through third parties (i.e., contractor and subcontractors). Training on policy and procedures will be incorporated at induction and throughout operations.  The training will cover the updated HR Policy including labor, community and gender policies (including Gender Based Violence [GBV]).

Workers’ Organization. The applicable national laws allow formation and registration of trade unions. Although SPN does not restrict freedom of association or formation of unions, currently there are no staff unions at site.

Non-discrimination and Equal Opportunity. The company has in place a clearly defined nondiscrimination and equal opportunity policy as part of SSP’s Corporate Sustainability Development Policy. Going forward, the company will incorporate the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity policy which is aligned to national law and IFC PS2 as part of its HR Policy to be updated as per ESAP #5 above. In addition, the company will include employment terms and conditions with zero-tolerance approach for proven case of gender-based violence (GBV) or reports of sexual harassment and shall include a mechanism for receiving complaints that protects the identity of the complainer, investigates the process based on a survivor centered approach, applying remediation in accordance with the HR policies and procedures and national regulations. 

Worker and Contractors’ Grievance Mechanism. At project level, the employees can raise their grievances, (i) directly with site manager, or (ii) with their company’s HR department. There is a formal grievance process in place outlined in the labor regulation that enables workers to bring and escalate grievances as needed. No channel is available for anonymous filing of grievances or concerns. As part of the HR Policy required under ESAP #5 above, the company will further strengthen its site level grievance mechanism procedure that meets IFC PSs including provisions for anonymous complaints, confidentiality protection and non-retribution, and which will be available for its permanent, casual and contractual workers. The company will inform the availability of such site-specific grievance mechanism during training for staff and contractors’ employees. 

Protecting the Work Force. All workers exceed the minimum age of 18 years with records of proof of age maintained at the site. The prevention of child labor and forced labor policy is in place as part of the SSP’s Corporate Sustainability Development Policy. As set forth in ESAP #5, the company will update its HR policies and procedures by incorporating the explicit policy on child labor and forced labor to be in line with the corporate policy as well as IFC PS2.

Workers Engaged by Third Parties: SPN will, as part of the ESMP mentioned at ESAP #1, establish a contractor management program that meets IFC PS2 requirements including procedures for ensuring compliance in terms of labor management, managing E&S risks associated with contractors/third parties, OHS performance, and other legal aspects relevant to O&M contractors and other third parties hired for company’s project activities. The contractor’s and subcontractor’s employees on site will also have access to the company’s worker grievance mechanism.

Occupational Health and Safety: At project level, OHS function is under the responsibility of the O&M managers supported by three O&M leaders and one safety personnel. Specific procedures include electrical safety which is the main hazard of the sector. All these procedures and general OHS needs for operations are based on government regulatory requirements. Standards of workplace health and safety are maintained such as safety training, good safety signage and employee health, accident records, and use of personal protective equipment. All incident data are collected and complied through internal reporting systems for investigation, analysis, and to establish corrective and preventive measures. No work-related accident is reported in the last [7] years and the project site attained the goal of “Zero-Accident” in [2022].

 SPN Solar’s operation have limited risks related to resource efficiency and pollution prevention as requirements under IFC PS3. SPN captures and stores water onsite which is then used for cleaning of the solar panels. Domestic wastewater from the onsite facilities is collected and treated in septic tanks and the effluent soaked to soil at the sites.

Transformers used at the sites are of mineral type (that does not contain PCBs) and the associated switch yards utilise a secondary containment system to minimise risks of accidental spills polluting waterways.

Defunct/broken solar panels are currently stored outdoors awaiting disposal with some of these panels broken. SPN will be required to store the waste panels in a manner to ensure their integrity until they are disposed of.  SPN will ensure that the waste panels are disposed of according to the requirements for hazardous wastes.  SPN will include a procedure in the revised E&S management program [see ESAP #1] to store, manage, transport and dispose of defunct/broken panels utilised a licensed waste treatment and disposal contractor to ensure that the broken/defunct panels generated during the operation of the sites are properly managed.

 Community Health and Safety. The project is about 350m to the nearest local settlements and adverse impacts on the local community during of the Project are very limited.

The project has installed a fence surrounding their perimeters to prevent unauthorized access to the sites. The transformers are fenced, and cables insulated to avoid any electrical hazards. Access to agricultural fields, villages, communities and their networks are not disrupted/hindered.

Security Personnel. The O&M contractor at site engages private security contractors which are engaged through an outsourced and authorized security agency. The main duty of the security guards is to control access at the entrance and to patrol the perimeter of the farms regularly during day and night. The guards are not armed. There have been no incident involving security forces till date. 

 Stakeholder mapping/analysis. SPN key stakeholders included its employees, suppliers, contractors, local authorities and affected communities in the vicinity of its operations. These communities often report their concerns and grievances, if any, to the local authorities in the area or directly to the company for any support request. There is no mechanism in place to record grievances for following up and mitigation.

Ongoing Reporting to Affected Communities. At the project level, the company conducted information disclosure during the EIA process as legally required. There is no formalized mechanism in terms of ongoing reporting to affected communities during operation phase.

Going forward, as set forth in ESAP #6, the company will further strengthen this process by developing and implementing its site-specific Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) and community level Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) in accordance with the requirements of IFC PS1 to (i) directly receive and register external communications from the affected communities and the public; (ii) screen and assess the issues raised and determine how to address them; (iii) provide, track, and document responses, if any; and (iv) analyze systemic issues and adjust its processes, as appropriate.