Pre-2006 Safeguards

The following are the environmental and social policies that IFC followed prior to April 30, 2006, and are provided as reference material only. Only investments made prior to April 30, 2006 are subject to the Safeguard Policies.

In 2006, IFC adopted the Sustainability Framework, which articulates our strategic commitment to sustainable development and is an integral part of our approach to risk management.

The 2006 edition of IFC's Sustainability Framework applies to investments that go through IFC's initial credit review process from April 30, 2006 to December 31, 2011.

The Sustainability Framework has been updated following an 18-month consultation process with stakeholders around the world.

The 2012 edition of IFC's Sustainability Framework applies to all investment and advisory clients whose projects go through IFC's initial credit review process after January 1, 2012.

Disclosure Policy

The Disclosure Policy (September 1998) defined IFC's policy on disclosure of information and described the materials available to the public under that policy. This policy was replaced by the revised IFC Policy on Disclosure of Information in April 30, 2006.

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Safeguard Policies

The Safeguard Policies provided guidelines for IFC and its clients on how to prevent and mitigate undue harm to people and their environment in the identification, preparation, and implementation of projects. The Safeguard Policies were replaced by the Policy on Social and Environmental Sustainability and the Performance Standards in April 30, 2006.

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Environmental and Social Review Procedure

The Environmental and Social Review Procedure (December 1998) was prepared for IFC staff and project sponsors to evaluate prospective projects prior to investment, focusing on economic, financial, technical, legal, environmental and social issues during the project appraisal process. This policy was replaced by the revised Environmental and Social Review Procedure in April 2006 and again in July 2007 (both shown below), with the latest update occurring in February 2009.

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Guidance Notes

The Guidance Notes accompanied the December 1998 Environmental and Social Review Procedure (ESRP) and contained additional information to assist IFC staff and project sponsors in applying the ESRP. These policies were replaced by the revised Guidance Notes in April 30, 2006 (see below), which were again updated in July 2007.

Guidance Notes (December 1998)

Guidance Notes (April 2006)

Guidance Notes (full document) [PDF]
English | Français | Español

Guidance Notes (introduction) [PDF]
English | Français | Español

Guidance Note 1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management System [PDF]
English | Français | Español

Guidance Note 2: Labor and Working Conditions [PDF]
English | Français | Español

Guidance Note 3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement [PDF]
English | Français | Español

Guidance Note 4: Community Health, Safety and Security [PDF]
English | Français | Español

Guidance Note 5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement [PDF]
English | Français | Español

Guidance Note 6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Natural Resource Management [PDF]
English | Français | Español

Guidance Note 7: Indigenous Peoples [PDF]
English | Français | Español

Guidance Note 8: Cultural Heritage [PDF]
English | Français | Español

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Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines / Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook

As of April 30, 2007, new versions of the World Bank Group Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Guidelines are now in use. The new EHS Guidelines replace the documents below, which were previously published in Part III of the Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook (PPAH) and on the IFC website.

PPAH Part III: Project Guidelines [PDF]

Pollutants [PDF]

Pollutant Control Technologies [PDF]

IFC Guidelines [PDF]

Airports
Ceramic Tile Manufacturing
Construction Materials Plants
Electric Power Transmission
Fish Processing
Food & Beverage Processing
Forestry Operations: Logging
Gas Terminal Systems
Geothermal Projects
Hazardous Materials Mgmt.
Health Care
Life & Fire Safety
Occupational Health & Safety
Office Buildings

Offshore Oil & Gas
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Pesticide Handling
Plantations
Port & Harbor Facilities
Rail Transit Systems
Roads & Highways
Telecommunications
Tourism & Hospitality Dev.
Waste Management Facilities
Wastewater Reuse
Wildland Management
Wind Energy Conversion
Wood Products Industries

World Bank Guidelines [PDF]

Aluminum Manufacturing
Base Metal & Iron Ore Mining
Breweries
Cement Manufacturing
Chlor-Alkali Plants
Coal Mining & Production
Coke Manufacturing
Copper Smelting
Dairy Industry
Dye Manufacturing
Electronics Manufacturing
Electroplating Industry
Foundries
Fruit & Vegetable Processing
General Env. Guidelines
Glass Manufacturing
Industrial Estates
Iron & Steel Manufacturing
Lead & Zinc Smelting
Meat Processing & Rendering
Mini Steel Mills
Mining and Milling, Underground

Mining and Milling, Open Pit
Mixed Fertilizer Plants
Monitoring
Nickel Smelting & Refining
Nitrogenous Fertilizer Plants
Oil & Gas Dev (Onshore)
Pesticides Formulation
Pesticides Manufacturing
Petrochemicals Manufacturing
Petroleum Refining
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Phosphate Fertilizer Plants
Printing Industry
Pulp & Paper Mills
Sugar Manufacturing
Tanning & Leather Finishing
Textiles Industry
Thermal Power for New Plants
Thermal Power Rehabilitation
Vegetable Oil Processing
Wood Preserving Industry

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IFC Exclusion List

The IFC Exclusion List defines the types of projects that IFC does not finance. The below Exclusion List relates to IFC's investments prior to IFC's introduction of the Environmental and Social Review Procedure version 2 dated July 30, 2007. This version of the Exclusion List was replaced by the revised IFC Exclusion List in March 2007.

IFC Exclusion List (archived) [PDF]

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