Central Plains Group E&S Review - AVGroup
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Food pocessing, agriculture

Central Plains Group E&S Review

Cllient: Finnfund

Central Plains Group (CPG), founded in 2019, is a vertically integrated agricultural company focused on potato farming, starch processing, and the development of thermoplastic starch-based biopolymers. In line with its planned expansion into sustainable biopolymer production for global markets, CPG sought financing from Finnfund to support the next phase of its operations. As part of Finnfund’s investment appraisal process, AVG was engaged to conduct an Environmental and Social (E&S) review of the company’s existing activities and proposed production facility.

Project objectives

The review was designed to provide an independent evaluation of CPG’s current and planned operations against the following reference frameworks.

The objective was to identify compliance gaps, assess the sufficiency of management systems, evaluate foreseeable E&S risks, and provide recommendations for risk mitigation and monitoring.

01

Ukrainian national and local environmental and labor legislation

02

IFC Performance Standards

03

ILO Core Labour Standards (ratified by Ukraine)

04

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)

Results and main conclusions of the study

The assessment was conducted in four structured stages: 

  1. Initial stage to determine the scope, expectations, and data requirements; 
  2. Analysis of documentation, including internal policies, procedures, and audit reports on ES issues; 
  3. Site visits and consultations with stakeholders to verify conditions and practices on site; 
  4. Preparation of a Red Flag Report and an Environmental and Social Due Diligence Report (ESDD) with summary conclusions and practical recommendations. 

Under this assignment, AVG delivered an assessment, which included: 

  •     Confirmation of E&S risk categorization in line with IFC PS Standards; 
  •     Review of management systems, policies, and procedures for environmental, social, and human rights risks; 
  •     Detailed supply chain and subcontractor analysis, with a focus on occupational health and safety (OHS), ISO 45001 alignment, and human rights diligence; 
  •     Evaluation of mitigation measures, budget provisions, and monitoring frameworks; 
  •     Recommendations for strengthening the Environmental, Social, and Human Rights Action Plan (ESAP) to ensure practical and measurable implementation. 

A significant component of the review involved the assessment of human rights risks, including: 

  •     Impacts of armed conflict, including risks related to modern slavery, child labor, internally displaced persons, OHS, and labor rights; 
  •     Discrimination risks, especially among vulnerable populations; 

·     Review of business continuity and resilience planning, including potential contributions to military/defense, preparedness for retrenchment, and risks tied to energy supply disruption.

Relevant services

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