Barclays is a major global financial services provider
engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking,
wealth management and investment management services.
Barclays operates in more than 50 countries and employs approximately
155,000 people, serving 48 million customers and clients worldwide.
Barclays' Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
Policy is not only applied to project finance transactions but also
to
other financing transactions "where there is a known application of
funds to a
potentially sensitive project". For these type of transactions an
Environmental
and Social Impact Assessment by an independent consultant is mandatory
and the
Equator Principles are applied. As Barclays does not make clear which
percentage of all financing deals in specific sectors is assessed in
this way,
no extra points are awarded for this broader application of the Equator
Principles.
-readmore-
Barclays has a
sophisticated procedure for Environmental
and Social Risk Assessment in Lending in place. As part of this
procedure,
Barclays has developed ten guidance documents for its credit officers
which
describe the main environmental and social risks in over fifty sectors.
The
content guidance notes "include an overview of each industry's
regulatory
situation, and guidance about the sort of measures we would expect
companies in
that sector to be taking to identify their risks and implement the
appropriate
actions and controls." Barclays has produced the following guidance
notes,
which are not published on the website but which are available on
request to
everybody interested:
Agriculture and
fisheries
Metals and mining
Oil and gas
Power generation,
supply and distribution
Chemicals,
pharmaceuticals manufacturing and bulk storage
General Manufacturing
Utilities and waste
management
Infrastructure
(including ports, pipelines and dams)
Service industry
Forestry and logging
The content of the guidance notes is generally close to the
international standards and best practices as described in this report.
Credit
officers are attended to the relevant issues, but no clear preconditions
for
financial services are set. The guidance notes are therefore regarded as
"policies without clear commitments" and scored with one point.
On October 5th, 2004 an official agreement was signed between the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) and Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources plc, for the…
In the Canadian Boreal forest just downstream of the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains are the Canadian tar sands. The region contains some 2 trillion barrels of oil,…
The Kusile coal fired power plant project is located in the province of Mpumalanga, in South Africa. With 4800MW, it will be one of the largest power plants of its kind in…
The Sakhalin II project in the Russian Far East is said by project sponsors to be the largest integrated oil and gas project in the world. The project involves three…
The ‘Shwe' (meaning ‘golden' in Burmese) projects entail exploitation of underwater natural gas deposits off the coast of western Burma's Arakan State and dual…
Dynegy LS Power is currently planning to construct more new coal-fired power plants than any other company in the USA, which will result in very large increases in greenhouse…
The Grasberg mine, located in the indonesian province of Papua, on the island New Guinea, just north of Australia, is being run by the mining company Freeport McMoran. The…
Sesa Goa is the largest iron ore producer and exporter of Goa. Since 2007 Vedanta Resources is the majority shareholder of Sesa Goa. Sesa Goa's main mining operations are…
Toka Tindung is about 35 km north east of Manado, the capital of the Indonesian Province of North Sulawesi. The project entails the development of six open-pit gold mines…
BankTrack has identified controversial issues
with the companies listed below that require attention from Barclays.
Areva
If you imagine the global nuclear industry as a giant web, AREVA is the fat, radioactive spider at its centre, greedily looking for new prey. It has manufacturing facilities…
E.ON is a German electricity company headquartered in Düsseldorf and is one of the big global players in energy production. E.ON operates along the entire value chain…
Like its rival and fellow French multinational AREVA, Électricité de France (EDF) is one of the biggest players in the global energy game. In fact, with more…
Elbit Systems is a military equipment producer with a focus on defense electronics such as intelligence gathering systems. It was established in 1967 and is headquartered…
As Italy's largest power company and Europe's second largest according to its generating capacity, Enel is another one of the titans of the energy industry. Its interests…
Founded in 1923, state-owned Eskom generates, transports and distributes approximately 95% of South Africa's electricity. That's a huge 60% of the total electricity consumed…
Recently, two big European electricity utilities, GDF Suez and International Power, have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the largest independent electricity…
Lockheed Martin is a global security company that is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology…
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) are the largest electricity producer in India. Their total installed capacity, including that under joint ventures, is close to…
Europe's second largest electricity generator and one of Europe's five leading gas and electricity companies. Founded in 1898, the company has grown to supply electricity…
Textron is a multi-industry company, consisting of numerous subsidiaries and operating units. One subsidiary is Textron Systems, which is active in the defence, homeland…
Sweden's state-owned Vattenfall is Europe's sixth largest generator of electricity and largest producer of heat. Vattenfall delivers electricity to around 7.8 million customers…
Vedanta Resources is a mining company. It produces aluminum, copper, lead and zinc. Vedanta has a strong position in India, where its founder Anil Agarwal was born, but is…
Veolia is a multi-national French company that operates on a global scale. The company's main areas of operation include: water supply and water management, waste management,…
Statement by the Thun Group of banks on the "Guiding principles for the implementation of the United Nations 'protect, respect and remedy'
framework" on human rights
Jan 04, 2012 - 2011 was the year full of controversies. Our cyber satire unveils banks and bankers that talk green but invest in climate killer coal fired power plants.
Shameful investments: banks still funding cluster bombs
Oct 05, 2010 - Cluster bombs are banned under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, but 138 banks and other financial institutions are still investing over $20 billion USD in the producers of these indiscriminate weapons. Activists paid a visit to 2 of the top banks investing in cluster bombs in the UK, Barclays and HSBC, to call on them to disinvest.
www.stopexplosiveinvestments.org
Bangladesh Mine - Barclays Bank
Jun 29, 2009 - Activists from the World Development Movement attended Barclays' AGM to question the bank's involvement in the controversial Phulbari Mine project in Bangladesh.
International website developed by BankTrack, CRBM, Les Amis de la Terre, Netwerk Vlaanderen, Platform, Setem and Urgewald.
Information in English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish.
