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Alistair Clark, Corporate Director of Environment and Sustainability

As part of the revision of the Bank’s Environmental Policy and Public Information Policy, a public consultation process is about to start in five cities in the region in addition to a meeting in London. Alistair Clark, Corporate Director of Environment and Sustainability, explains the aims of the consultation process.

Why are the policies being reviewed?
There are two policies undergoing revision(s) at the moment – the Environmental Policy and the Public Information Policy.

There are a number of reasons for the review and subsequent revision of the policies. The existing Environmental Policy, which came into effect in 2003, requires the EBRD to review the policy on a regular basis.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our clients want more clarity on what they are required to do and wish to distinguish their responsibilities from the responsibilities of the Bank. We therefore want to apply best practice by structuring the new Environmental and Social Policy in such a way that these responsibilities are more clearly defined.

The second policy under discussion is the Public Information Policy (PIP), which was revised in 2006. Although it would normally have undergone its next triennial review in 2009, it was decided to bring the process forward to coincide with the Environmental Policy review. A section on the Bank’s disclosure of environmental information is being included in the new draft PIP, among other changes. The two policies are planned to be submitted to the Board of Directors at the same time.

Who is being consulted on the draft policies and why?
It is extremely important to have as full and meaningful a consultation on governance policies as possible and we have done this both internally and externally. Within the EBRD, we have consulted with all the relevant departments, as well as with senior management and the board of directors.

Externally, we have been consulting (with) our clients, other banks, international agencies (such as the International Labour Organization and World Health Organisation) and civil society. We also held a series of three workshops with indigenous people in different parts of Russia on specific policy requirements.

We first consulted the public on the issues we wanted to change or incorporate into the new policy and this was done over a 30-day period in late 2006. Then we wrote the new draft policy and it was made publicly available in English and Russian on February 25. This marked the start of a 45-day period of public consultation.

A series of six public meetings on both draft policies will be held in Budapest, Moscow, Belgrade, Tbilisi, Bishkek, and London, starting with Budapest on March 26 and ending in London on April 8. We expect the majority of those attending to come from NGOs but we also welcome business clients, academics and government officials to these open meetings. Some funds have been made available to help pay for travel and accommodation for NGOs who are not close to a meeting location.

What happens next?
After the public meetings, we will review all the comments on the draft policy and we will take the comments into account when preparing the final draft text, which will be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval. We hope to have the new policy approved in time for the Annual Meeting in Kiev on May 18-19. Following approval, the final policies will be published on the Bank’s website and a report on the public comments and staff responses to the comments will be disclosed as well.

By Mike McDonough
Photos: EBRD
Contact: Environment Department

20 March 2008