Foreign direct investments and environmental standards in the New Independent States

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) environmental department had contracted adelphi to conduct a study on foreign direct investments in the mining sector and the transfer of environmental standards in the New Independent States (NIS). The NIS of the former Soviet Union belongs to the world's largest manufacturers of mining products. In several NIS, mining controls a significant portion of the revenue and availability of foreign exchange. Foreign direct investments in the NIS’ mining sector have significantly increased in recent years. At the same time though, social and ecological costs of mining activities can outweigh the economic advantages.

Upon completing this study, the OECD assigned adelphi with an in-depth analysis of investment activities in order to investigate the ecological effects of foreign investments and the development and implementation of environmental standards.