IFC releases full sustainability framework

The IFC's policy updates, approved by the board in May and coming into effect on the first of the upcoming year, have now been released to the public. BIC and partners will be writing an analysis of the gains and gaps in the new policies soon, but we congratulate the IFC on strengthening these vital policies.

Because the influence that it wields is disproportionate to the amount that it invests, IFC represents an important target for civil society advocacy to not only strengthen requirements in IFC's own projects, but also potentially to a host of private banks and across the industries in which it invests. In particular, IFC exerts an increasing influence on the standards applied by private banks involved in project finance. As of June 2009, 68 private financial institutions such as CitiGroup and ABN Amro, have adopted a set of social and environmental standards, called the Equator Principles, which are based on the IFC’s Performance Standards. This amounts to a commitment that the projects they finance abide by the same environmental and social requirements as IFC-sponsored projects.
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/policyreview.nsf#SF