More than 50 civil society organisations have sent a letter to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), laying out recommendations for how it can ensure a transparent, inclusive process for the upcoming review of the IFC Sustainability Framework. 

The IFC is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, which lends to private clients such as companies, banks and private equity funds. The IFC Sustainability Framework governs its approach to sustainability, and is designed to “enhance transparency, engage with the people affected by the projects IFC finances, protect the environment, and achieve greater development impact”, according to the IFC website. 

The Framework includes the Sustainability Policy, Access to Information Policy, and globally influential Performance Standards, which also form the basis of the Equator Principles, a financial industry benchmark endorsed by over 120 private financial institutions worldwide.

The letter states that a review of the IFC Sustainability Framework is “long-delayed” and “must result in substantial improvements and updates to meet best international practice”. The world has changed significantly since the policies were previously updated in 2012, with numerous multilateral climate agreements (including the Paris Agreement), the Sustainable Development Goals and the recent UN Principles on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, improved international labour standards and the Global Biodiversity Framework all shaping responses to new development challenges. 

To ensure the review meets these challenges, it must provide robust opportunities for communities affected by IFC financing, accountability and development experts, Indigenous Peoples’ representatives and organisations, civil society organisations, labour unions and other rights-holders and stakeholders to provide feedback on the policies at the numerous, key stages in their development. In the letter, six international organisations (Recourse, Arab Watch Coalition, Bank Information Center, Centre for Financial Accountability, Accountability Counsel, Oxfam International) give recommendations for a successful and inclusive review process, with endorsement from 52 other organisations from around the world. This includes ensuring the availability and accessibility of all documents involved in the review process, consultations which enable a wide array of stakeholders and rights-holders to participate, and the engagement of communities involved in the filling of cases to the CAO (the IFC’s ombudsman).

Download the full letter here.