PRIZMA

In advance of the gathering of Equator Banks for the fifth Community of Learning event hosted by the IFC this week, BankTrack published its critical review: The Outside Job -Turning the Equator Principles towards people and planet. (more...)

The Consultancy Services Unit of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is conducting an outreach to US-based consultants in Chicago (Nov 30) and Washington DC (Dec 1).  (more...)

In its recent CODE Progress Report on IFC Sustainability Framework Review and Update ( December 1, 2010), IFC notes that, with exceptions (such as the Access to Information Policy), majority of proposed changes are clarifications rather than material changes.  (more...)

As I note that another bank - NIBC - has joined the group of financial institutions which have adopted the Equator Principles, I recalled a friendly request and equally friendly but probing questions prompting this blog entry. (more...)

Paging through Scotiabank’s C-Level Sustainability report, two somewhat misleading lines in the CEO Letter (!) about assurance by CBSR caught my attention and made be chuckle - TGIF! (more...)

 Jointly with GRI, the International Finance Corporation (IFC, part of the World Bank Group) published a bridging document showing how strategies, system and data points developed to meet IFC Performance Standards can be used to generate GRI-type sustainability reports. About time to help capital project developers/sponsors to leverage expensive compliance reporting to create more shareholder value! (more...)

It did not require the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to realize that oil and gas field developments are high risk operations. Similar to the Mexican Ixtoc One oil platform spill in 1979, which affected Texas coast lines, the on-going spill has the potential to result in significant trans-boundary impacts.  Will this latest spill encourage the three North American governments to re-open stalled negotiations on a Trans-boundary EIA agreement? (more...)

The IFC Performance Standards require that projects with potentially significant impacts conduct ‘Free, Prior, Informed Consultation’ (FPIC) and demonstrate ‘Broad Community Support’ (BCS). Will these requirements move towards the concept of ‘Consent’ particularly in the context of Indigenous Peoples? (more...)

Used to more user friendly disclosure practices of multilateral financial institutions like the IFC or the EBRD, advocacy groups lament lack of deal transparency by Equator Banks. Although there is room for improvement, I wonder if the existing market transparency is already being leveraged enough. (more...)

CEE Bankwatch, an advocacy NGO, has been scoring PR points against the European Bank (EBRD) and its involvement in gold mining projects in Armenia, Bulgaria and Kyrgyzstan. Would EBRD’s exit resolve the allegations and concerns raised by Bankwatch - and existing legacies associated with 'brownfield mining'? (more...)