Call for reinforcing policies and standards in the Environmental & Social Sustainability Framework – Joint CSOs letter to EIB Directors

On 25th January 2022, ACT Alliance EU joined 21 civil society organisations in sending a letter to the Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) calling on them to adopt a stronger set of policies and standards in the new draft of the EIB Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework (ESSF), especially in areas related to the protection and promotion of human rights and transparency and environmental due diligence of financial intermediaries’ investments.

To truly deliver on environmental and social commitments and support the sustainable development of countries outside the EU, we call on the EIB Directors to integrate these proposals:

  1. Establish a clear system of human rights due diligence by requiring a stand-alone Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA)
  2. Develop a specific Human Rights Strategy complementing its Gender Strategy and Climate Strategy
  3. Ensure standard 4 on biodiversity and ecosystems is aligned with the EU Birds and Habitats Directive by requiring appropriate assessments for projects outside of the EU, Candidate and Potential Candidate countries
  4. Ensure standard 11 on intermediated finance is improved by obliging intermediaries to refer high-risk sub-projects to the EIB for review and approval and disclose environmental information for public scrutiny and accountability.

Read the full letter here.