In accordance with the IIB Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, the International Investment Bank has developed and adopted Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Guidelines for the Bank’s investment projects.

The document, based on the best practices of leading international financial institutions such as the World Bank, EBRD and other, on the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and on corresponding international conventions, embraces the main principles, approaches and standards applied by the IIB when assessing the environmental and social impact of planned investment projects.

When making the decision on financing a project, the Bank is going to follow the Guidelines to assess the ecological and social risks and define the practical significance of the project in terms of its impact on society and the environment.

The implementation of the Guidelines paves the way for a full transition of the IIB towards financing of ecologically sound and socially significant projects, which is crucial in the context of the Bank’s commitments under its accession to the UN Global Compact.

The IIB intends to further improve its internal documents aimed at support and promotion of principles of social responsibility and sustainable, ecologically sound development in the financial and business community. The Bank has already financed socially and environmentally significant projects – for example, earlier this year it contributed to the creation of 180 new jobs in the Bulgarian city of Lovech and provided grants for programmes protecting rare animal species in Mongolia and Vietnam.