Prizma

IFC launched a second round of public consultation to update the IFC Performance Standards (2006), which provide also the basis for the Equator Principles. In mid June 2010, the first meeting was held in Washington DC. It attracted over 5o participants from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and industry.What are the emerging themes? (more…)

Unable to attend the GRI conference in Amsterdam, I watched the many taped snippets of the Mining & Metals Sector Supplement session on YouTube. One take away from a presentation by First Peoples Worldwide suggests that GRI reports are important but also that they are not designed with local communities as target audience in mind. (more…)

Inaugural sustainability reports, even if they don’t hit all the right notes, empower internal champions and create opportunities for better stakeholder engagement and transparency, and can help drive  performance improvements. But are you not intrigued to find out what catalyzed and motivated Perenco, an independent oil and gas company operating in places like Gabon, DR Congo, Peru and Guatemala, to create its first CSR report? Is it perhaps related to the recent creation of a $2.8bn reserve-based lending involving Equator Banks, which will also assist with completion of a controversial oil pipeline in Peru’s rainforests? (more…)

In May 2010, the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) office of IFC/MIGA released its Review of IFC’s Policy and Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability and Policy on Disclosure of Information. This CAO Advisory Note is a contribution to IFC’s ongoing review and update of its Sustainability Framework about which I blogged previously. (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…)

The IFC Performance Standards on Social & Environmental Sustainability have emerged as the de facto benchmark for developing and financing responsible extractive projects in emerging markets. The Canadian government’s March 2009 CSR Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector, Building the Canadian Advantage, also includes the IFC Performance Standards. In this article, I review the genesis, significance and key challenges associated with the IFC Performance Standards, using also input from participants of over 20 workshops and training courses delivered in Canada, China, Panama, Peru, UK and Venezuela since 2006. (more…)

During a recent workshop on IFC Performance Standards & Equator Principles I delivered in Lima, Peru, some of our discussions revolved around the concept of Broad Community Support. These conversations took us on an interesting journey making stops at recent headlines about allegation of human rights abuses in the extractive sector in Peru. (more…)