Social and environmental investments

TAP’s Social and Environmental Investment (SEI) programme has been developed to promote sustainable development, in consultation and cooperation with the affected communities.  

More than €58 million is expected to be invested in communities across Greece, Albania and Italy.

The SEI programme is based on the principles of inclusiveness, participation, capacity strengthening, leveraging local assets, and sustainability. 

The primary objectives of the SEI programme are to: 

• strengthen livelihoods within communities
• support improved community quality of life along the pipeline route
• enable improved skills and abilities through support for education and training initiatives
• enhance environmental management
• build relationships of trust and goodwill. 

Prior to construction of the pipeline, TAP undertook Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) for each of its three host countries.  

This required transparent and open dialogue with all stakeholders to map all possible environmental, cultural and socio-economic impacts of the pipeline and identify measures to avoid and mitigate them.  

ESIAs were carried out in compliance with the Performance Requirements of the  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and other applicable laws, regulations, country standards, and were approved by the relevant, competent national authorities.  

The terms of the ESIAs, together with locally-conducted needs assessment studies, led to the identification of development areas for our SEI projects.  

Project funding focuses on four SEI themes: livelihoods, community quality of life, environment, and education and training.  

The themes are deliberately high-level to accommodate each of the three host countries’ different development priorities: 

• In Greece, priority areas include social needs, infrastructure and capacity building
• In Albania, the focus is on community infrastructure, agriculture, education and training and community safety
• In Italy, priorities are livelihoods (particularly tourism, agriculture and fisheries sectors), environmental management and community services and infrastructure.

Over the lifetime of the pipeline, TAP has committed to invest in SEI projects amounting to €32 million in Greece, €14 million in Albania and €12 million in Italy. 

To be considered for funding, projects must comply with TAP’s investment criteria, principles and SEI policy.  

SEI initiatives shall not conflict with TAP's regulatory, licensing or other statutory commitments, economic interest or reputation. TAP shall primarily focus on funding initiatives aimed at supporting communities directly affected by TAP’s construction. 

We prioritise projects that align with TAP’s SEI strategic direction, community need and impact.  

TAP will not provide SEI funding for:

• Political donations;
• Commercial requests – including funding for private or public companies;
• Organisational memberships;
• TAP-branded teams (i.e., sports); 
• General fundraising appeals; 
• Religious activities;
• Indirect fundraising activities e.g. charity golf days, dinners, magazine advertising etc.;
• Conferences;
• Activities that require ongoing operating funds or that create financial dependency on TAP. 

 TAP will only consider funding for initiatives aimed at benefiting communities directly affected by TAP’s construction and operations.