13. Adherents should undertake an environmental and social review of projects, in accordance with the international standards applied to the project as set out in paragraphs 21-26 of this Recommendation, consisting of:
- Benchmarking of the project’s environmental and social performance against the relevant aspects of the international standards applied to the project; and
- Consideration of measures that can be taken to prevent, minimize, mitigate or remedy adverse impacts and/or to improve environmental and social performance, as appropriate to the size of the relevant parties involved in the project, the context of their operations, the nature and extent of potential adverse impacts, the international standards applied to the project, and the significance of the Adherent’s share in the overall project.
14. Where there is a high likelihood of severe project-related human rights impacts occurring2, the environmental and social review of a project may need to be complemented by specific human rights due diligence.
15.Adherents supporting exports forming only a minor part of a project, or in re-insurance situations, may take into account the environmental and social review carried out by another Adherents, a Major Multilateral Financial Institution, or an Adherent’s development agency in accordance with this Recommendation.
16. When undertaking a review, Adherents should, where appropriate:
- Assess the potential environmental and / or social impacts of any associated facilities, taking into account the timing and location of their construction, including making reasonable efforts to benchmark against relevant international standards using the available information; and
- Consider any statements or reports made publicly available by their National Contact Points (NCPs) at the conclusion of a specific instance procedure under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
17. When undertaking a review, Adherents should indicate to the appropriate parties involved in the project the type of information they require, including, where appropriate, the need for an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). The applicant is responsible for providing the appropriate information to satisfy Adherents’ requirements. The information to be supplied should include, but is not limited to:
- A description of the project and its geographic, ecological, social, and temporal context.
- Information relating to the potential environmental and / or social impacts of the project, together with any information on related mitigating and monitoring measures.
- The standards, practices and processes that the parties involved in the project intend to apply, including information that the project complies with local legislation and other host country relevant regulations.
- The results of any public consultations with local communities directly affected by the project and/or their legitimate representatives and of any engagement with other parties, such as civil society organizations, that have expressed an interest in the project. It is the responsibility of the buyer/project sponsor to undertake any such public consultations and/or engagements with interested parties. For the purposes of public consultations, environmental and social impact information should be made available to affected communities in a language accessible to them.
18. For a Category A project, Adherents should require an ESIA to be undertaken; the applicant is responsible for providing the resulting ESIA report, together with other studies, reports or action plans covering the relevant aspects of the project. An ESIA report and any supporting documents should address the issues set out in the international standards applied to the project in accordance with paragraphs 21-26 of this Recommendation: in this context, Annex II contains information on the typical items to be included in an ESIA report. An ESIA should not be carried out and reviewed by the same party.
19. The scope of a review for a Category B project may vary from project to project. Adherents should require appropriate information to be provided by the applicant that addresses the relevant environmental and social impacts of the project. Such information may be contained in an ESIA or in project-related assessment reports, planning and concept documents, environmental and social studies and plans, technical documentation of pollution control plans and criteria, applicable legal and regulatory frameworks, community engagement activities (information disclosure, dissemination, consultation and other participatory processes) and information collected during discussions with applicants.
20. Beyond screening and classification, no further action is required under the provisions of this Recommendation for a Category C project.
21. When undertaking a review, Adherents should benchmark:
- Non-project finance projects, against the relevant aspects of
- All ten World Bank Safeguard Policies, or
- All eight IFC Performance Standards, in particular where justified and/or practicable due to the size and/or structure of the transaction such as, but not limited to, certain types of structured finance transactions that share characteristics with project finance, and/or where other financial institutions forming a significant part of the project are applying these same standards;
- Limited or non-recourse project finance projects, against the relevant aspects of all eight IFC Performance Standards.
22. Where such institutions are supporting the project, Adherents may instead benchmark projects against the relevant aspects of the standards of a Major Multilateral Financial Institution.
23. Where projects are benchmarked against the World Bank Safeguard Policies, Adherents may, where appropriate, also need to refer to the relevant aspects of supplementary standards and sources of guidance to ensure an adequate coverage of certain potential social impacts, such as community and gender impacts, labour and working conditions, and health, safety and security issues.
24. Adherents should also benchmark projects against the relevant aspects of the EHS Guidelines, which are referenced in World Bank Safeguard Policy OP 4.01 and IFC Performance Standard 3.
25. In the absence of any relevant industry sector EHS Guidelines, Adherents:
- Should benchmark against the relevant aspects of any internationally recognized sector specific or issue specific standards such as, where appropriate, the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, and the relevant aspects of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards for nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities3; and/or
- May refer to relevant international sources of guidance such as, for example, where appropriate, the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol and the Core Values and Strategic Priorities of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) Report for hydro-power projects and the standards of the World organization for Animal Health (OIE) for animal welfare issues, as well as any relevant IFC publications, such as its Good Practice Notes.
- The World organization for Animal Health (OIE) for animal welfare issues, as well as any relevant IFC publications, such as its Good Practice Notes.
26. Alternatively, where appropriate, Adherents may benchmark projects against the relevant aspects of any other internationally recognized standards, such as European Union standards, that are more stringent than those standards referenced above.
27. The World Bank Safeguard Policies and the IFC Performance Standards referred to in paragraph 21 of this Recommendation are those applicable at the time of the adoption of the Recommendation. In the event of a review of such standards by the relevant standard-setting body, the ECG may decide to adopt the updated standards without undertaking a complete review of this Recommendation. The other international standards and sources of guidance referred to in paragraphs 22-26 of this Recommendation are those applicable at the time of the environmental and social review.
28. Projects should, in all cases, comply with host country standards. Adherents should, therefore, seek assurance that the project complies with local legislation and other relevant host country regulations.
29. Projects should also meet the international standards against which they have been benchmarked, in accordance with paragraphs 21-26 of this Recommendation, recognizing that some of these standards contain margins of tolerance in how their overall objectives may be achieved.
30. In exceptional cases, however, an Adherent may decide to support a project that does not meet the relevant aspects of the international standards against which it has been benchmarked. In such cases, the reasons for the choice of international standards, the reasons for the failure to meet such international standards, the related justification for supporting the project, and any related monitoring procedures must be reported to the ECG in accordance with paragraph 44 of this Recommendation. With due regard to business confidentiality, aggregated information on such cases will be made publicly available by the ECG in accordance with paragraph 42 of this Recommendation.