Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a balance between meeting the current needs of the business and protecting the interests of future generations. Today, it is a must-have feature of an effective company that wants to attract the attention of partners and investors, enter foreign markets, and always be ready for changes in environmental legislation.
Implementing sustainable development principles allows you to communicate effectively with the public, and also demonstrates to investors the stability of the company and at the same time its readiness for change. By investing in sustainable development, you get the opportunity to attract financing at low interest rates, avoid problems with regulatory authorities and increase the value of the company.
Baker Tilly is one of the few Ukrainian companies that conducts audits for compliance with sustainable development standards. While most people are not aware of the prospects and opportunities that sustainable development opens up for companies, we will use financial calculations to show whether your business needs it and what exactly it can give it, and then provide advice on implementing sustainable development standards.
Strategic Environmental Assessment
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) promotes sustainable development by ensuring environmental protection, human safety and health, and taking into account environmental requirements during the development and approval of state planning documents.
SEA objects: Programs and plans developed by authorities at the national, regional or local level (including detailed territorial plans (DTP ).
Baker Tilly Sustainability Department Specialists:
- provide comprehensive information on the nuances of conducting an SEA;
- will help identify negative consequences during the implementation of the state planning document;
- find the best options for achieving state planning goals while adhering to the principles of sustainable development, including public information and participation,
- prepare a plan for monitoring the effects of state planning on the environment and public health.
Analysis of the impact of the company's activities on climate change
Environmental legislation is becoming increasingly stringent: states are adopting action plans to reduce negative environmental impacts, and international organizations consider the indicator "greenhouse gas emissions" one of the most important when assessing a company's performance. Investors and the public are also monitoring how consciously a company treats the environment and what it does to control and prevent greenhouse gas emissions.
These changes need to be prepared for now to avoid large fines in the future. In addition, international financial institutions are more willing to finance projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Baker Tilly specialists will analyze your company's impact on climate change, develop a methodology for accounting and inventorying greenhouse gas emissions, and compile a list of measures to reduce, prevent, and offset them.
Supply chain sustainability analysis
The modern approach to environmental and social responsibility is not limited to the activities of a single company. Responsible supply chain management opens up a range of new opportunities for companies that adhere to sustainable development practices, which accordingly affects the commercial, environmental and social aspects of doing business.
Supply chain sustainability analysis services help our clients:
determine the compliance of suppliers and materials supplied (e.g. wood, cotton) with internal and external requirements
avoid reputational losses that may arise from cooperation with contractors who are irresponsible towards the environment, their personnel and the local population;
prevent financial losses that may arise from supply disruptions caused by the realization of regulatory risks regarding problematic suppliers.
Environmental Due Diligence
Many corporate transactions are associated with environmental risks. Contaminated soil, water and air, hazardous substances and waste, claims from the public and authorities, reputational risks can be inherited by the buyer of a business when buying it from the previous owner. The need to predict, measure and minimize these risks has shaped the offer of services for analyzing the environmental component of a business, also known as Environmental Due Diligence ( EDD ).
For the buyer, the main goal of performing the EDD procedure is to obtain complete and reliable information about the environmental impact of the company or project, including an analysis of the current environmental condition of tangible assets; compliance with legal norms, corporate and international standards; and the effectiveness of the existing environmental protection system.
For the seller, EDD enhances the effectiveness of a company's sales efforts, increasing its attractiveness to investors by: early identification and prompt mitigation of the negative environmental impact of a company or project; acceleration of deal execution due to the full readiness to present the results of the analysis to a potential buyer or investor; saving time for key personnel involved in the EDD procedure due to the elimination of the need for each potential buyer to conduct their own assessment.
Extensive experience in environmental Due Diligence in various industries allows Baker Tilly to assess the environmental component of transactions and projects of any level of complexity.
Environmental and social audit
Do you want to improve the effectiveness of your existing Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) systems? Baker Tilly's sustainability team offers a diagnostic of your EHS systems based on the assessment criteria used by internal auditors (e.g. national legislation, corporate or international standards).
The perspective of an external auditor will help identify vulnerabilities that have escaped the attention of internal auditors or company employees.
To assess the quality of the work of the internal audit team, a comparison of the results of the external and internal audit may be conducted.
Preparation or confirmation of non-financial statements
The publication of non-financial reporting plays an important role in shaping the image of a company.
Today, stakeholders are interested not only in the financial performance of a company, but also in its impact on the social sphere and the environment.
The most authoritative framework for non-financial reporting is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) principles. Compliance with the GRI principles indicates a company’s commitment to a sustainable economy and provides stakeholders with insight into the true value of a business publishing its non-financial report.
BakerTilly offers Sustainability Assurance services that are based on audit evidence and determine:
completeness, reliability and relevance of the information presented in the report;
compliance of the Report structure with the GRI framework;
achievement of previously stated objectives and potential for further improvement.
The verification procedure is performed in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000, Assurance Engagements Other than Audits and Reviews of Retrospective Financial Information.
The Management Report is a new report for Ukrainian businesses. It must contain financial and non-financial information that characterizes the state and prospects of the enterprise's development and discloses the main risks and uncertainties of its activities. Baker Tilly specialists will prepare the Management Report, taking into account all the requirements of current legislation.
Conducting the EIA and EIA procedures
The environmental impact assessment procedure is a tool that allows all stakeholders (society, government, and business) to work together without negative impact on the environment.
The EIA conclusion is the main permit that a business entity must obtain during the environmental impact assessment process. It is the basis for starting operations and obtaining other permits, in particular, a Construction Permit.
International investors require businesses to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in accordance with the rules of the World Bank and EBRD: if a company expects to receive financing for construction or reconstruction from international financial institutions, it must conduct an assessment and identify potentially adverse environmental risks and impacts on the natural environment (air, water, and soil), and assess potential social impacts on human health and safety.
Baker Tilly specialists provide services for full support of the procedure for obtaining an environmental impact assessment report.
Cleaner production, resource efficiency, benchmarking
On average, Ukrainian enterprises are 2-3 times less efficient than European ones. The situation can be corrected by introducing energy efficiency principles. Their key idea is that improving processes will reduce environmental pollution and at the same time create additional value for the company.
Benchmarking will help you achieve this goal and evaluate your results - finding a more cost-effective competitor with which to compare your business and implementing its best practices.
Baker Tilly will help transform your production into a green and efficient one. Our specialists will conduct a comprehensive assessment and develop an improvement plan. We work with a separate area or technology, as well as with the entire production at once, and if necessary, we involve narrowly specialized specialists from other organizations.