World Bank Group (WBG)

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

"The World Bank lives its values. Since 2009, we have been measuring, reducing, offsetting, and reporting GHG emissions of our global internal operations—including our facilities—and corporate air travel. We take seriously our responsibility to operate in a way that helps us create a more liveable planet."

Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank

MISSION

End extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet.

FIELD OFFICES

Throughout this webpage, the term World Bank and the abbreviated Bank refer only to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA); the term World Bank Group and the abbreviated Bank Group refer to all five institutions–IBRD, IDA, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The World Bank Group Inventory Management Plan (IMP) and the World Bank GRI Report are available here and provide details regarding the headquarters and country offices where the environmental data is collected.

ALIGNMENT WITH THE STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM, 2020–2030

The Bank Group is committed to actively integrating sustainability into our work with clients and strives to continually improve our corporate environmental and social impact. The Bank Group manages the environmental, social, and economic impacts of our external and internal business operations by striving for net positive impacts on the ecosystems, communities, and economies where it has facilities. It does so by:

Establishing high-level strategic sustainability leadership, the Corporate Responsibility Oversight Committee.
Remaining carbon neutral for our facilities worldwide and our corporate travel since 2009.
Measuring, reducing, offsetting, and reporting on emissions from our global facilities, vehicles, headquarters food procurement, and global corporate air travel.
Adopting a corporate GHG emissions reduction target for our global facilities in line with climate science. 
Reducing food-related emissions from cafeterias, coffee bars, and catering operations at our headquarters by 25 per cent by 2030, from a 2019 baseline.
Adopting 10 Sustainability Principles for embedding sustainability across our internal operations.

EMISSIONS REDUCTION

World Bank Group

In fiscal 2019, the Bank Group adopted a corporate carbon emissions reduction target to reduce direct and indirect carbon emissions from its global facilities by 28 percent by 2026, from a 2016 baseline.

World Bank

In fiscal 2022, the Bank invested in energy reduction and efficiency initiatives at Washington, D.C. headquarters (headquarters) and in country offices. These initiatives include:

At headquarters, improvements to make the buildings more efficient such as replacement of the air handing units in the main complex (MC) building, installation of motion-controlled LED lighting in the MC garage, and replacement of the I building hot water heaters. Further, installation of low-wattage LED landscape lighting, subterranean stormwater collection, and new native trees helped to waterproof the outside of the I building.
In country offices, efforts to reduce energy consumption include: Chennai (India) and Rabat (Morocco) installed solar panels to their building roofs; Beirut (Lebanon), Dhaka (Bangladesh), and Islamabad (Pakistan) replaced outdoor lighting with LED lighting; and Dhaka (Bangladesh) replaced its chiller.

IFC

In fiscal 2022, the IFC continued to pursue its commitment to green building certifications and standards as a means to meet the Paris Agreement targets. These initiatives include:

At the headquarters, the completion of a chiller optimization project is expected to reduce energy demands, as HVAC consumption accounts for 40% of a commercial building’s energy demand; the installation of herbal and vegetable rooftop gardens bring the associated co-benefits of capturing stormwater and reducing heat island effects which help reduce energy consumption by cooling the surface of the roof; and the placement of a beehive next to the rooftop garden aids pollination, provides a safe habitat for bees, and helps the local ecology. In fiscal 2022, IFC donated over 200 pounds of produce from the garden to a local nonprofit, and it is on track to double that amount this year.
In country offices, six received green building certification such as LEED, EDGE, and BREEAM; 13 are in the process of green building certification; and nine are slated for certification in the upcoming years.

EMS AND REDUCTION EFFORTS

Comprehensive AHSRAE Level 2 Energy audits were performed on seven Bank Group headquarters office buildings. These audits identified more than 80 potential conservation and efficiency measures that can be incorporated into the buildings. The Facilities and Real Estate groups have already been re-prioritizing capital funds towards projects with greenhouse gas emission-reduction potential and will continue to do so. The IFC created an energy management taskforce which is prioritizing five recommendations from the energy audit to pursue in fiscal 2024.

Similar audits were performed at five overseas properties, and the results are being used to move forward on emissions reduction and renewable energy projects based on the findings.

The Real Estate function within World Bank has developed a business intelligence dashboard for sustainability. The dashboard, which is available to all staff, allows for visualization of sustainability-related metrics for all US-based properties and a growing number of facilities in the worldwide portfolio.

The Bank Group is making progress on the adoption of an Environmental Management System (EMS), working internally on educating and developing a value proposition.

For the 2022 reporting year, WBG's progress on the EMS is rated as: Does not meet.

ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL SAFEGUARDS AND STANDARDS IN POLICIES, PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES

Launched on October 1, 2018, the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) enables the Bank and borrowers to better manage the environmental and social risks of projects and to improve development outcomes. The Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy (ENB) and Sustainable Social Inclusion (SSI) Global Practices in the Sustainable Development Vice Presidency are responsible for implementing the ESF in every region. The ESF policies and policy coherence are a key focus of the Environmental and Social Standards Department, which sits in the Bank’s Operations Policy and Country Services (OPCS) unit. The Director of Environmental and Social Standards and Chief Environmental and Social Standards Officer (CESSO) reports to the Vice President, OPCS. The Operations Environmental and Social Review Committee (OESRC) issues advice to task teams on complex or sensitive environmental and social aspects of Bank operations. The OESRC is chaired by the CESSO and includes the Global Directors of ENB and SSI.

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaints mechanism for people and communities who believe that they have been or are likely to be adversely affected by a Bank-funded project. It includes the Inspection Panel and the new Dispute Resolution Service. The Inspection Panel was established in 1993 for people and communities who believe that they have been, or are likely to be, adversely affected by a Bank-funded project. The Dispute Resolution Service was established in 2020 to facilitate an independent and voluntary dispute resolution process for complainants and borrowers. The Inspection Panel was the first independent accountability mechanism at an international financial institution.

The Accountability Mechanism reports to the Board of Executive Directors and operates independently of Bank management. In fiscal 2023, the Inspection Panel commenced an investigation related to a Road Corridor Connector Project in Bolivia and is currently reviewing a Request for Inspection regarding a Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth project in Tanzania. The panel decided not to investigate a Hydro Electric Project in India and issued notices of non-registration on projects in Benin, Egypt, Lebanon, and Vietnam. In fiscal 2023, parties in a case related to an Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project in Uganda and a Nepal-India Electricity Transmission and Trade Project signed Dispute Resolution Agreements.

For more information on the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), please visit: https://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/environmental-and-social-framework

For more information on the Accountability Mechanism, please visit: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/accountability

For more information on members of the Inspection Panel, please visit: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/about-us/meet-panel.

For the 2022 reporting year, WBG's status of implementing environmental and social safeguards and standards in their policies, projects and programmes is: Yes.

ENVIRONMENTAL TRAINING FOR PERSONNEL

The Bank Group is developing a sustainability e-course to inform staff about the institution’s internal sustainability principles and practices and encourage sustainable staff behavior. The roll out of the course is planned to coincide with a sustainability learning guide for staff, thus mutually reinforcing how individual action can help the Bank Group become an even more sustainable institution.

For the 2022 reporting year, WBG's status on providing training on environmental sustainability is: Yes, but it is voluntary.

ENVIRONMENTAL INVENTORY APPROACH

Every year, the Bank Group updates and discloses the Inventory Management Plan (IMP) that presents the current scope and vision of its commitment to inventory and manage GHG emissions for its internal global business operations. The IMP sets forth the Bank Group’s intention to create a GHG inventory that is consistent with the principles and guidance of the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative (GHG Protocol) for its internal corporate GHG accounting and reporting. The inventory methodology is designed to meet the most rigorous and complete accounting and reporting standards. The IMP and GHG emissions are externally audited every three years.

The Bank Group IMP is available at  [link to CR internet site] Corporate Responsibility.

OFFSETTING

Since 2009, the Bank Group has offset global emissions using renewable energy certificates (RECs) and carbon offsets for scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 global corporate air travel and vehicles.

In fiscal 2022, the Bank Group purchased RECs to cover all U.S. electricity usage and carbon offsets that meet the Bank Group’s Carbon Offset Guidelines and provide tangible development benefits in our client countries to cover the remaining emissions and achieve carbon neutrality. The offsets include wind power projects in Mongolia and Pakistan and clean drinking water in Cambodia using filtration to avoid burning fossil fuels.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

In fiscal 2022, the Bank continued to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills through source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting.

Minimizing the amount of material brought into Bank facilities is the first way the Bank manages the amount of waste created. Avoiding unnecessary packaging for purchased items, including encouraging minimum purchase thresholds for office supplies, is one way the Bank accomplishes this.
Centralizing waste collection at headquarters is another way the Bank manages the amount of waste created. Centralized bins for recycling, composting, and waste are located in all headquarters buildings, with no bins in individual offices.
Recycling electronics, carpet tiles, and office supplies and donating office furniture for refurbishment are other examples of our waste reduction efforts.

In fiscal 2022, IFC resumed composting collection at headquarters after a six-year hiatus and expanded paper towel collection in headquarters restrooms to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

In fiscal 2022, the Bank Group carried out a host of activities for staff and host communities for waste diversion and social justice:

A major environmental awareness campaign takes place in honor of Earth Day and Earth Month each April, with a month of informative programming and activities for staff.
A communications campaign informed new staff on and reacquainted returning staff with the centralized waste system at headquarters.
A partnership with Food Rescue to make food donations to underserved communities.
A Bank Group–IMF bike collection delivered over 100 bikes to a local nonprofit Bikes for the World, marking more than 1,000 donated bikes since we began partnering with the organization.
Educational webinars were held including resources for country offices.
A rooftop gardening event allowed participants to plant and take home their own small herb garden.
An electronic waste (e-waste) recycling drive captured over 2,000 pounds of e-waste from landfill.
Waste audits are being performed to inform a strategy for ongoing improvement to waste diversion.

We look forward every year to working more closely with staff to educate them about environmental issues and provide them with opportunities to get involved.

WATER AND WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

The Bank Group conserves water through technological upgrades and proactive maintenance practices. This includes purchasing water-efficient fixtures, proactively checking for leaks, and investing in water-efficient equipment in our HVAC systems.

In fiscal 2022, the Bank began implementing some priority projects that were identified in a 2019 water audit at headquarters.

In the same year, IFC completed a chiller optimization project and started the process of awarding a contract for HVAC retro-commissioning.

OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES

The World Bank actively manages the environmental, social, and economic impacts of its internal business operations by striving for net positive impacts on the ecosystems, communities, and economies where it has offices. By implementing its Corporate Responsibility Strategic Plan, the Bank systematically addresses environmental impacts from day-to-day operations, utilizing a set of Sustainability Principles as its guide.

NEXT STEPS

Reports:

The Bank Group reports in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD):

The World Bank Fiscal 2023 Climate-Related Financial Disclosures launched in September 2023 as part of the World Bank Annual Report 2023.
The IFC Fiscal 2023 Climate-Related Financial Disclosures launched as part of the IFC Annual Report 2023.

The World Bank GRI Report 2023 and World Bank Sustainability Review 2023 are available on the World Bank’s Corporate Responsibility website.

Work is underway to: 

Leverage a cross-functional team to prioritize and implement emissions-saving projects across global facilities to meet our 2026 emissions target. Projects include, but are not limited to, LED lighting replacement at our offices in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique as well as solar panel installations on our offices in Kenya, Pakistan and Niger, to name a few.
Complete and roll out a sustainability e-course for staff.
Further promote waste initiatives such as the reuse and donation of office supplies and the recycling of electronics.  
Make the IFC headquarters stormwater cistern operable again and expand its stormwater collection and greywater reuse process.

ADDITIONAL LINKS

World Bank and sustainability

IFC and sustainability