FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Minneapolis, Minnesota (Feb 03, 2015) – Merjent, a professional environmental and social consulting firm, is proud to officially launch its Corporate Responsibility and Social Performance (CRSP) Advisory Group. Our highly respected advisors are located throughout North America to serve clients operating in the United States, Canada and internationally.
The CRSP team has extensive experience working with companies of all sizes, both as in-house staff and as external consultants, to advance best practices in Indigenous and stakeholder engagement, social impact and risk assessment, management, reporting, and community development.
“The talent, expertise and reputation of these team members is simply tremendous,” Tom Janssen, President and CEO of Merjent, commented. “The addition of CRSP services, and extending our geographic reach to Canada, will allow our clients to benefit from our integrated environmental and social expertise provided by our advisors located throughout North America.”
CRSP services complement the traditional environmental consulting services that Merjent has provided to its clients since 2004, including environmental permitting, third-party analysis, planning and feasibility, construction compliance, and operational compliance. Merjent also has extensive capacity and experience in safety, health, and cultural resources management.
CRSP Advisory Services:
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Aboriginal Consultation for Regulatory Authorizations (Canada and other international jurisdictions)
- Negotiation, Implementation and Monitoring of Indigenous Community/Company Agreements
- Social Impact and Risk Assessments
- Engagement to Support Government-to-Government Consultation Between Federal and State Agencies and Native American Tribes (US)
- Social Due Diligence for Mergers, Acquisitions, and Joint Ventures
- Indigenous Values and Rights Assessment
- Human Rights Risk and Impact Assessment
- Social Performance Management Systems and Assurance
- Strategic Community Investment and Philanthropy
- Social Risk Analysis for Investors
- Submissions for Leadership Indices (e.g., Dow Jones Sustainability Index)
- Sustainability Reporting and Communications
TEAM BIOS
LAUREEN WHYTE is a social performance professional with 25 years of experience as a senior practitioner, project manager, and strategist in stakeholder and indigenous engagement, consultation, and development as well as in permitting and regulatory strategy, cultural and participatory research, negotiation of corporate-indigenous agreements, and human environment impact and third-party assessments based on frameworks such as the International Finance Corporation’s Performance Standards. She has successfully guided numerous initiatives to involve local and indigenous groups in human resources and community economic development opportunities. Working primarily in the mining, oil and gas, power and transportation sectors, Ms. Whyte has worked in several regulatory jurisdictions and in collaboration with teams of multi-disciplinary consultants (Engineering, Environmental, Legal) on major projects in north, west and central Canada, the eastern United States, and South America.
JO RENDER is a social performance specialist with 20 years of experience working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), communities, and industry in defining best practice in corporate responsibility. She has worked with companies and associations in designing international performance frameworks. Ms. Render excels in multidisciplinary environments within industry, supporting corporate and asset-level teams in the design and implementation of social performance systems, management of technical risk assessments, impact assessments, investor due diligence assessments, stakeholder engagement, and social performance assurance processes. Ms. Render brings to her clients a broad knowledge of trends, standards, and tools within the corporate social responsibility and sustainable development fields along with particular specializations working with indigenous cultures and interpreting social performance from a human rights perspective. She has worked in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
CAROLINE ROSSIGNOL is a corporate responsibility professional with 20 years of experience working with corporations, government, communities, and NGOs. She specializes in the mining and energy sectors, including 7 years as Corporate Social Responsibility Manager with a multi-national mining company operating in 11 countries. Ms. Rossignol is a respected senior practitioner in social risk assessment and management, stakeholder engagement, strategic community investment, employee engagement, multi-sector partnerships, indigenous engagement and reputation management. She also has expertise in several aspects of communications, from sustainability reporting to issues management during reputational crises. She has participated in numerous initiatives to advance best practice, including the International Council for Mining and Metals’ Indigenous Peoples Working Group. Ms. Rossignol is bilingual in English and French, and has worked in western and eastern Canada, the southwestern and Alaskan regions of the United States, and Latin America.
APRIL HOLDREN is a social performance and regulatory compliance specialist with 14 years of experience working with extractive industries, federal and state agencies, local and tribal governments, communities and NGOs. She offers an in-house corporate background with applied knowledge of best practice to address social risks associated with prefeasibility- and feasibility-stage resource development projects in the U.S. Ms. Holdren brings a regulatory perspective based on years of experience working with U.S. environmental regulations and has expertise in community development, community investment, stakeholder engagement strategy and planning, tribal participation, third-party assurance, sustainability reporting, systems for monitoring and tracking social performance, and community safety. Ms. Holdren has worked in the west coast, Midwest, and Alaska regions of the U.S.
JENNIFER CAMPBELL is a social performance advisor with 15 years of experience working in the environmental assessment field for a variety of projects in the energy, oil and gas, mining, defense and recreation sectors. Jennifer has extensive experience in Aboriginal consultation, engagement and traditional knowledge studies and is highly proficient with provincial and federal environmental requirements with the British Columbia, Alberta and federal governments. Jennifer has project experience throughout northern, central and eastern British Columbia and in Alberta.
CASEY WARNER is a social performance advisor with 9 years of experience in designing and managing social and economic impact assessments, stakeholder engagement, and local and regional planning programs. Ms. Warner is an experienced project manager, leading assessment and survey teams for oil and gas, pipeline, energy facilities, and mining clients. She works directly with clients in guiding operations teams to enhance the effectiveness of their project designs and programs. She is an expert in designing socioeconomic baselines, environmental justice assessments, and siting due diligence from a community standpoint, and has played key roles in supporting permitting managers in understanding and meeting local regulatory requirements. Ms. Warner emphasizes collaborative study and management approaches that allow industry and community leaders to find common ground and align visions and strategies. She has led assessments and stakeholder outreach in the Gulf Coast, Southeastern, Southwestern, Northeastern and MidAtlantic regions of the United States.
About Merjent:
Merjent, Inc., is a professional environmental and social consultancy advising the world’s leading mining and energy companies. Our focus is on oil and gas, electric utilities, biofuels, mining, and renewable energy projects throughout the United States and Canada. Merjent is known for providing quality services and a leading standard of client care through our team of highly qualified and specialized professionals. www.merjent.com