15 May 2007
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to expand its Environmental Policy into an Environmental and Social Policy, which will be complemented by a set of Policy Requirements, modeled after the Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation.
The EBRD Environmental Policy, approved in April 2003, is undergoing a review process which began in 2006. On 11 May 2007, EBRD released a Discussion Paper outlining the direction it envisions the new Policy to take. This is a first step in what will be a series of consultations and drafts. The revision process will continue through the year, and a new policy will be presented to the Board in December 2007. The EBRD will also establish Environmental and Social Review Procedures to guide internal management of environmental and social performance. Civil Society will have 45 days to comment on the Discussion Paper, after which EBRD will prepare a first draft of the new Policy.
The entire system of social and environmental due diligence and safeguard standards will be modeled after that of the IFC. When the IFC was revising its social and environmental safeguards, it justified moving to a discretionary, performance based system with the specificity of lending to the private sector. EBRD lends both to public and private clients, and thus its environmental and social management framework should not be structured only towards private sector investments.
In the Discussion Paper, the EBRD aims to significantly expand its policy in many important social and environmental directions. In addition to instilling significant preventative measures, the institution should also promote ‘doing good’ among its clients, such as mainstreaming social and environmental concerns within the lending portfolio, and building capacity in clients to promote sustainable development outcomes.