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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
6.03.2003 ET
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CSR News from:
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Leading International Banks to Announce Major Initiative -- The Equator Principles
A New Industry Framework for Environmental and Social Standards in Global Project Finance Lending
(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, DC - Ten leading banks from seven countries will
announce the adoption of the "Equator Principles," a new comprehensive set
of mandatory environmental and social guidelines for the financing of
projects. The Equator Principles are based on the policies and guidelines
of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending
arm of the World Bank Group.
Why this announcement is significant:
The scale of global investment affected. Precise estimates will
depend on the final number of adopting banks, which will be announced on
Wednesday, but initial rough estimates indicate that roughly $14 billion
in project finance investments worldwide annually will be affected.
The breadth of investment affected. Unlike single industry codes of
conduct, the adopting banks will be applying these standards across a wide
array of sectors, ranging from manufacturing and infrastructure to oil,
gas, mining to information technology.
The rarity of such a move by financial institutions. Global
private-sector financial institutions have traditionally kept a low
profile with respect to the environmental and social aspects of their
investments.
The context. Arguably, this is one of the largest collective
responses by any group in the private sector to the concerns raised in the
globalization debate over the past decade.
Press conference
DATE: Wednesday June 4th
TIME: 10:30 am eastern time
LOCATION: IFC Headquarters, 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room
L-109, Washington, DC 20433
SECURITY REQUIREMENTS: Please bring a photo ID and allow enough time to
receive a visitor's pass at security. REGISTRATION: To attend the press
conference, please register by emailing your name and affiliation to:
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