Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) – USDA Rural Development

The Equator Principles is a risk management framework, adopted by financial institutions, for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risk in projects and is primarily intended to provide a minimum standard for due diligence to support responsible risk decision-making. As at 4 June 2013, 79 adopting financial institutions in 35 countries have officially adopted the Equator Principles, covering over 70 percent of international Project Finance debt in emerging markets.

The Equator Principles have recently been revised and the third iteration of the Equator Principles was launched on 4 June 2013.

The Equator Principles apply globally, to all industry sectors and to four financial products 1) Project Finance Advisory Services 2) Project Finance 3) Project-Related Corporate Loans and 4) Bridge Loans. The relevant thresholds and criteria for application is described in detail in the Scope section of the Equator Principles.