PRIZMA

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...)

Articles: Prizma provided Expert Witness services on ICSID arbitration case, assisted Lundin Mining and Fulbright Academy to generate Sustainability Reports, and co-delivered four GRI-certified training courses. Access newsletter here.

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 noted earlier, GRI and ICMM launched the new GRI Metals and Mining Sector Supplement during the annual mining convention of PDAC in early March 2010. The new Sector Supplement integrated many references to the IFC Performance Standards and suggests increasing convergence amongst these internationally recognized guidelines. (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...)

Prompted by client questions, I revisited IFC’s Report on the First Three Years of Application of IFC’s Policy and Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability and Policy on Disclosure of Information. IFC’s client surveys shows that 21 percent said the cost of PS implementation might negatively influence future decisions to work with IFC. (more...)

An extractive company (mining ‘unobtainium’), a botched resettlement program and heavy-handed interventions by security forces provide the backdrop in the SciFi movie “Avatar” played out on the fictional planet of Pandora. What lessons can this movie provide about IFC Performance Standards relating to Land Acquisition & Involuntary Resettlement for extractive projects here on Earth? (more...)