S1 by Salient One · Project assessment

Project environmental and social assessment

Scope project activities and environmental and social impacts. Prepare a social-impact register, stakeholder engagement plan, evidence checklist and mitigation plan.

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Original S1 prompts referencing the IFC Performance Standards (2012). Developed and published by Salient One. S1 is not endorsed by IFC and does not certify compliance.

How the assessment works and what it can support

Use the five connected stages to move from scoping to a traceable project record. The questions cover IFC PS1–8, with particular attention to labour, community safety, land, livelihoods and engagement.

Project E&S scoping. Describe activities, location, workers, contractors, land and communities. Review relevant IFC Performance Standards and retain unknown answers.
Social-impact register. Record impact pathways and affected groups, severity, scale, scope and ability to remedy. Keep evidence confidence and organisational risks separate.
Stakeholder and engagement planner. Identify affectedness, vulnerability, concerns and participation barriers. Include groups with limited influence and assign engagement responsibilities.
Evidence and gap checklist. Distinguish public guidance, regional context and project evidence. Record provenance, geographic coverage, study periods, retrieval dates and review status.
Mitigation and monitoring plan. Assign owners, dates, indicators and review triggers. Link actions to impacts and record evidence before marking an action verified.

Impact significance, evidence and category

Physical displacement and economic displacement are separate questions. Include informal land users and people who lose access to livelihoods even if they do not relocate. Prioritise human-rights impacts using severity and remediability. Evidence confidence does not reduce impact severity.

A named assessor records a provisional A, B or C category, with a date, rationale and unresolved gaps. S1 does not assign categories automatically. Undetermined remains available. Financial-intermediary portfolio categorisation is outside this release.

Public guidance explains a framework. Country and sourcing observations provide regional context. Project evidence establishes site-specific facts; record consultations, workforce and land arrangements, permits, baseline studies and specialist assessments with source dates and coverage.

Illustrative Ukraine use

Road repair beside a market may restrict informal traders’ access without moving their homes. This can trigger PS5 investigation into economic displacement and PS4 community access and safety. It calls for consultation and a livelihood baseline; it does not establish actual impacts or a category.

Privacy and framework status

Anonymous drafts stay in browser memory and are lost on reload or closing the tab. Project text is excluded from URLs and analytics. Public scoping processes the submitted description transiently; it does not save an assessment. Pro records and exports are privately owned.

S1 provides guidance, not IFC compliance certification or endorsement. ISO 31000 and ISO 26000 provide guidance; ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 management-system certification requires independent assessment. No restricted standards clauses are reproduced.

Published 2026-10-08. Framework ifc-2012-s1-2026-10-08-v1. Practitioner review: pending.

Assessment workspace

Scope the project, document impacts and engagement, and assign evidence and mitigation actions.

Assessor-led guidance. Independent studies and management-system certification remain separate.

Sign-in opens another tab. Keep this draft open, then check sign-in status here to save it.

Project description

Project name

Country

Site / footprint and nearby communities

Activities and alternatives under consideration

Lifecycle

Sector for sourcing context (optional)

Commodity / material for sourcing context (optional)

Scoping questions

Choose “unknown” when evidence is missing. A “no” answer does not establish compliance.

PS2 · Will the project employ workers, including temporary or migrant workers?

PS2 · Will contractors or labour suppliers work on the project?

PS2 · Will primary suppliers provide goods or materials for the project?

PS3 · Could activities affect resource use, water, air, waste or pollution?

PS4 · Could nearby people experience changes in health, safety, access or services?

PS4 · Will public or private security personnel protect the project?

PS5 · Will the project acquire land or change rights to use land or resources?

PS5 · Could people lose housing or have to move?

PS5 · Could livelihoods, income, livelihoods access or informal land use be disrupted without relocation?

PS6 · Could activities affect habitats, biodiversity or ecosystem services used by people?

PS7 · Could Indigenous Peoples with relevant collective attachments or distinct institutions be affected?

PS8 · Could works, excavation or access changes affect cultural heritage or community cultural practices?

IFC scoping results

PS1 · Assessment and management · review required

Define the project, identify affected people and impacts, consider alternatives, engage stakeholders and maintain management and monitoring arrangements.

Project assessment, stakeholder engagement and management arrangements require review.

Evidence to obtain:

Project description, social baseline, stakeholder engagement records, alternatives and management/monitoring arrangements.

IFC guidance

PS2 · Labour and working conditions · information needed

Assess employment conditions, worker safety, contractors and relevant primary supply-chain risks.

Unknown: Will the project employ workers, including temporary or migrant workers?
Unknown: Will contractors or labour suppliers work on the project?
Unknown: Will primary suppliers provide goods or materials for the project?

Evidence to obtain:

Workforce profile, employment terms, worker consultation and grievance arrangements.
Contractor labour arrangements, oversight and worker safety evidence.
Primary supplier records and checks for child labour, forced labour and serious safety risks.

IFC guidance

PS3 · Resource efficiency and pollution prevention · information needed

Examine resources, emissions, waste and pollution using project-specific information and relevant EHS guidance.

Unknown: Could activities affect resource use, water, air, waste or pollution?

Evidence to obtain:

Resource balance, emissions/waste information and relevant sector EHS studies.

IFC guidance

PS4 · Community health, safety and security · information needed

Assess impacts on community health, safety, infrastructure, services and security arrangements, including vulnerable groups.

Unknown: Could nearby people experience changes in health, safety, access or services?
Unknown: Will public or private security personnel protect the project?

Evidence to obtain:

Social baseline, community consultation and health/safety assessment.
Security arrangements, conduct, training and community complaint processes.

IFC guidance

PS5 · Land acquisition and involuntary resettlement · information needed

Examine physical and economic displacement, access restrictions and formal and informal livelihood uses. Prioritise avoidance and assess alternatives.

Unknown: Will the project acquire land or change rights to use land or resources?
Unknown: Could people lose housing or have to move?
Unknown: Could livelihoods, income, livelihoods access or informal land use be disrupted without relocation?

Evidence to obtain:

Land/access records and identification of formal and informal users.
Census, housing/tenure baseline and displacement alternatives assessment.
Livelihood and access baseline, including informal users and seasonal activities.

IFC guidance

PS6 · Biodiversity and living natural resources · information needed

Identify potential habitat and ecosystem-service impacts and commission qualified site studies where needed.

Unknown: Could activities affect habitats, biodiversity or ecosystem services used by people?

Evidence to obtain:

Site ecological baseline and specialist habitat/ecosystem-services assessment.

IFC guidance

PS7 · Indigenous Peoples · information needed

Establish applicability through qualified local assessment and appropriate engagement. Country location alone cannot establish applicability.

Unknown: Could Indigenous Peoples with relevant collective attachments or distinct institutions be affected?

Evidence to obtain:

Qualified applicability assessment and culturally appropriate engagement; establish applicability locally.

IFC guidance

PS8 · Cultural heritage · information needed

Assess tangible and intangible heritage, consult affected communities and establish appropriate procedures for discoveries during works.

Unknown: Could works, excavation or access changes affect cultural heritage or community cultural practices?

Evidence to obtain:

Heritage assessment, community consultation and chance-find arrangements.

IFC guidance

EHS guidance for scoping and mitigation

General EHS guidelines
Review worker safety, pollution prevention and community safety against site-specific hazards.
Document-specific; record the selected edition · Global guidance; site applicability requires expert review

Industry EHS directory
Select relevant industry documents and record their edition, applicability and limitations before setting mitigation measures.
Directory; underlying documents have separate editions · Global guidance; sector selection is provisional

Provisional category recorded by assessor

Regional context

Complete scoping to load available country and sourcing evidence.

Evidence and assessment gaps (23)

Review unresolved items

Complete the project location and activities.
PS2: unresolved question: Will the project employ workers, including temporary or migrant workers?
PS2: unresolved question: Will contractors or labour suppliers work on the project?
PS2: unresolved question: Will primary suppliers provide goods or materials for the project?
PS3: unresolved question: Could activities affect resource use, water, air, waste or pollution?
PS4: unresolved question: Could nearby people experience changes in health, safety, access or services?
PS4: unresolved question: Will public or private security personnel protect the project?
PS5: unresolved question: Will the project acquire land or change rights to use land or resources?
PS5: unresolved question: Could people lose housing or have to move?
PS5: unresolved question: Could livelihoods, income, livelihoods access or informal land use be disrupted without relocation?
PS6: unresolved question: Could activities affect habitats, biodiversity or ecosystem services used by people?
PS7: unresolved question: Could Indigenous Peoples with relevant collective attachments or distinct institutions be affected?
PS8: unresolved question: Could works, excavation or access changes affect cultural heritage or community cultural practices?
PS1: no reviewed project evidence recorded.
PS2: no reviewed project evidence recorded.
PS3: no reviewed project evidence recorded.
PS4: no reviewed project evidence recorded.
PS5: no reviewed project evidence recorded.
PS6: no reviewed project evidence recorded.
PS7: no reviewed project evidence recorded.
PS8: no reviewed project evidence recorded.
Identify affected groups and their participation barriers.
Document impact pathways and significance; an empty register is not a low-impact finding.

Exports

Exports use a saved revision and its evidence snapshot. Save changes before downloading.

Contact Salient One about practitioner support

Free sources and framework references

These are guidance and lookup links. Select the actual report or project record and verify its observation period, coverage, edition and usage terms before relying on it.

IFC Performance Standards and Guidance Notes

2012 standards; guidance notes updated 2021 · Global; project applicability requires assessment

Versioned references and original S1 prompts; no certification or compliance determination.

Open IFC Performance Standards and Guidance Notes

World Bank Group general and industry EHS guidelines

Document-specific editions · Global; select the relevant industry and activities

Expert interpretation and site-specific applicability are required.

Open World Bank Group general and industry EHS guidelines

IFC ESMS implementation resources

Public handbook and toolkit; document-specific dates · Global

Reference links; use original project-specific management arrangements.

Open IFC ESMS implementation resources

IOM DTM Ukraine

Select and record report round and survey dates · Ukraine; report-specific geographic coverage

Survey estimates support context; do not establish site conditions or identify affected individuals.

Open IOM DTM Ukraine

HDX HAPI dataset documentation

Dataset-specific observation periods · Dataset-specific country and administrative coverage

Manual references only; verify the underlying dataset, coverage and licence. No active S1 HDX feed.

Open HDX HAPI dataset documentation

Ukraine EcoSystem environmental registers

Project-specific records · Ukraine

Select the actual project record; access restrictions and missing records must be stated.

Open Ukraine EcoSystem environmental registers

IAIA social impact assessment guidance

2015 · Global

Reference link and original S1 prompts; do not adapt or redistribute the licensed document.

Open IAIA social impact assessment guidance

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

2011 · Global

Prioritise severe impacts using scale, scope and remediability; project evidence remains necessary.

Open UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

ISO 31000 risk management

Public description · Organisation and project risk management

Guidance, not a certifiable standard. No restricted clauses are reproduced.

Open ISO 31000 risk management

ISO 26000 social responsibility

Public description · Organisational social responsibility

Guidance, not a certifiable standard. No restricted clauses are reproduced.

Open ISO 26000 social responsibility

ISO 14001 environmental management

Public description; verify applicable edition · Environmental management systems

Independent management-system certification is separate from this assessment.

Open ISO 14001 environmental management

ISO 45001 occupational health and safety

Public description · Occupational health and safety management systems

Independent management-system certification is separate from this assessment.

Open ISO 45001 occupational health and safety

Continue with country profiles, the sourcing evidence matrix and source freshness. Regional context must be checked against project evidence.

API and AI use

Read the versioned reference JSON for question IDs, mappings, sources and interpretation. The OpenAPI 3.1 description documents the anonymous scoping request and response.

Send JSON to POST /api/project-assessment/scope. No account or key is required for scoping; the limit is 20 requests per minute per connecting IP. Keep missing answers as unknown. Preserve source periods, retrieval dates and limitations in any summary. Use only information you are authorised to process.

Private records and exports are excluded from these public references. Saving and export operations require an authenticated Pro account. See API access documentation.

Citation: Salient One, Project environmental and social assessment, ifc-2012-s1-2026-10-08-v1, published 2026-10-08. Cite this page for S1’s method and the original source for each substantive framework claim.

Questions about this tool

What can I do without an account?

You can scope a project and prepare impact, stakeholder, evidence and action registers without an account. The draft stays in this browser tab and is lost when it is closed or reloaded. Pro is required to save assessments and export versioned Word, PDF and CSV reports.

Does S1 certify IFC compliance or ISO conformity?

No. S1 provides original prompts structured around the IFC Performance Standards (2012) and links to public guidance. It does not certify compliance, establish IFC endorsement or replace a specialist assessment. ISO 31000 and ISO 26000 provide guidance; ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 management-system certification requires independent assessment.

How are IFC categories A, B and C recorded?

A named assessor records a provisional category with a date, rationale and unresolved gaps. S1 does not assign a category automatically. Undetermined remains available, and gaps remain visible even for category C. Financial-intermediary portfolio categorisation is outside this workflow.

Is livelihood loss covered when nobody needs to move?

Yes. Economic displacement is assessed separately from physical displacement. Scoping includes changes in income, access to livelihoods and informal land or resource use, including impacts on people without formal title.

Can country indicators prove project impacts?

No. Country and sourcing observations provide regional context for investigation. Project impacts require site-specific evidence, consultation and appropriate specialist studies. Missing evidence remains unknown; low evidence confidence does not reduce impact severity.

Can AI assistants use the scoping tool?

Yes. The public reference JSON provides versioned questions, IFC mappings and source links. The OpenAPI description documents the anonymous POST scoping endpoint, input schema, response meanings and rate limits. It returns scoping guidance and qualified regional context; it does not save a project, assign a category or expose private assessments.