Media Briefing Note

This media briefing note by the Center for International Environmental Law discusses a February 2013 audit by the World Bank's Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) regarding the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) lending through financial intermediaries. The briefing highlights the IFC's failure to track the environmental and social impacts of a significant portion of its portfolio and critiques the IFC's response to these findings.

• A February 5, 2013 audit by the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) revealed that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has very limited knowledge of the environmental and social impacts of its financial market lending, which constitutes over 40% of its portfolio and is valued at nearly $20 billion.
• The CAO audit found that the IFC does not measure whether its 2006 Sustainability Framework objective to 'do no harm' is being met, nor does it measure the 2012 Sustainability Framework's goal of achieving positive development outcomes. The audit noted that the IFC focuses on whether clients have management systems rather than actual outcomes, finding that approximately 60% of cases showed non-improved performance at the subclient level.
• The audit identified significant compliance failures: 10% of sampled clients were non-compliant with environmental and social requirements, and another 25% were partially compliant or uncertain. In 21 of 37 cases, legal contracts were modified to make environmental and social protections more open to interpretation, and the IFC continued providing financing even when clients breached contracts by failing to comply with policies.
• The IFC has not committed to changing its policies or practices in response to the audit. The IFC argues that it is not necessary or efficient to evaluate sub-client impacts, preferring that partner financial intermediaries manage them, and suggests that the issue is a perception problem that can be addressed through 'corporate messaging.'
• Various civil society organizations (CSOs), including Eurodad, Oxfam International, the Center for International Environmental Law, and the Bretton Woods Project, have called for a fundamental overhaul of IFC lending to financial intermediaries. Their recommendations include increasing transparency, improving reporting to track money channeled through intermediaries, focusing on development outcomes, and ensuring proper monitoring and oversight.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2013). Media Briefing Note. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/CAO_BriefingNote_Feb2013.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Media Briefing Note. 2013. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/CAO_BriefingNote_Feb2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Media Briefing Note |date=8 February 2013 |url=https://www.ciel.org/Publications/CAO_BriefingNote_Feb2013.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2013media, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Media Briefing Note}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2013}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/Publications/CAO_BriefingNote_Feb2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }