Environmental procedures

The EBRD is directed by its founding agreement to adhere to sound banking principles and to "promote in the full range of its activities environmentally sound and sustainable development".

The various ways in which the EBRD promotes such development are described in the Bank's Environmental Policy. One specific step taken by the Bank to address this mandate and the General Principles and Objectives set out in the Policy is to ensure that all of its investment and technical co-operation projects undergo environmental appraisal along with the financial, economic, legal and technical due diligence which is carried out, and ensure appropriate monitoring is undertaken following approval of projects by the Board of Directors.

For this the Bank has developed Environmental Procedures which have two basic objectives:

1. To ensure that the environmental implications of the Bank's potential investment and technical co-operation projects are identified and assessed early in the Bank's planning and decision-making process and that environmental considerations are incorporated into the preparation, approval and implementation of projects at an appropriate level.

2. To identify ways in which the Bank's projects can be enhanced by incorporating environmental benefits or improvements.

The Procedures outline how the Bank incorporates these aims into the Bank's overall project appraisal process and during implementation at a practical level. They summarise the nature of environmental appraisal and monitoring activities undertaken during different stages of a project's life cycle and the institutional responsibilities for carrying them out.