www.worldbank.org
Headquarters: Washington, DC, USA
Focal Points: Sohee Gu (WB), Mimi Diez (IFC)
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
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 livable planet."
Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, 2023
Mission
The World Bank Group’s mission is to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet.
Institutional Structure of the World Bank Group
The term World Bank Group (WBG) 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 term World Bank (WB or henceforth "Bank") refers to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).
Alignment with the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations System, 2020-2030
The Bank Group is committed to actively integrating sustainability into its work with clients and strives to continually improve its corporate environmental and social impact. The Bank Group manages the environmental, social, and economic impacts of its corporate and lending business operations by striving for net-positive impacts on the ecosystems, communities, and economies where it operates. It achieves this by:
- Implementing strategic sustainability leadership through the Corporate Responsibility Oversight Committee.
- Measuring, reducing, offsetting, and reporting on its corporate Green House Gas (GHG) emissions as outlined in WBG GHG Inventory Management Plan; the inventory includes emissions from its global facilities, vehicles, headquarters food purchases and air travel.
- Remaining carbon neutral for its corporate GHG emissions.
- Adopting 10 Sustainability Principles to embed sustainability across its internal operations.
Emission Reduction
The Bank Group adopted a target to reduce GHG emissions from its global facilities by 28 percent by 2026, from a 2016 baseline. As of fiscal year (FY)1 2025, the Bank Group is exceeding this target. The Bank Group is also pushing to meet its emissions reduction target on food purchases at headquarters by 25 percent by 2030 from a 2019 baseline.
Waste Management
The Bank Group decreases waste sent to landfills through source reduction, reuse, composting, and recycling. Its approach includes:
- Minimizing the amount of material brought into Bank Group facilities.
- Avoiding unnecessary packaging for purchased items.
- Encouraging minimum-purchase thresholds for office supplies.
- Mandating that large purchases from vendors be delivered in bulk instead of individually packaged.
Water and Wastewater Management
The Bank Group conserves water through technological upgrades and proactive maintenance practices in its facilities. This involves:
- Purchasing water-efficient fixtures,
- Proactively checking for leaks, and
- Investing in water-efficient equipment in its HVAC systems.
Other Environmental Measures
The Bank Group has begun the process of obtaining ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems certification for its headquarters with certification expected by the end of 2025. The ISO 14001 certification highlights the Bank Group's dedication to environmental management, efficiency, and waste reduction, enhancing its global reputation and fostering partnerships.
Environmental Training for Personnel
Bank Group staff have easy access to a wide variety of learning programs through the Open Learning Campus (OLC), which offers instructor-led courses, self-paced learning, microlearning, facilitated learning, and on-the-job training. Through OLC, staff can receive training on environmental sustainability. Below are examples.
- The Bank Group’s sustainability e-course was launched in FY22 to inform staff about the institution’s corporate sustainability principles and practices while encouraging sustainable behavior. The training is voluntary.
- The Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) training for Bank Group staff includes essential accreditation and a specialized course for ESF specialists. The specialized course aids staff in managing environmental and social risks in Bank-financed projects and is mandatory for Task Team Leaders (TTL) and ESF specialists.
Environmental Inventory Approach
The Bank Group updates and discloses the Inventory Management Plan (IMP), which details its commitment to inventory, manage, and report GHG emissions for its internal global business operations (“corporate GHG emissions”). The IMP sets forth the Bank Group’s objective to develop a GHG inventory following the principles and guidelines of the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. The GHG inventory, and the accompanying IMP, undergo external audits every three years, with the most recent audit conducted for the FY23 GHG inventory.
The World Bank Group IMP is available on the Corporate Responsibility Program site.
Offsetting
Since 2009, the World Bank Group has been a carbon neutral institution, purchasing high-quality carbon credits to offset its corporate emissions globally. Additionally, the Bank Group buys Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to account for all electricity consumed in the U.S.
For more information on how the Bank Group selects its carbon offsets, see the World Bank Group Guidelines/Criteria for Selecting Emission Reduction Offsets.
For more information on the World Bank Group’s corporate sustainability initiatives, please visit:
[1] Fiscal Year (FY): The World Bank Group's fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
World Bank Group Headquarters Food Purchases Emissions has been excluded from scope 3 emissions calculations in order to align with the UNGTB methodology.
Radiative forcing has been excluded from scope 3 air travel emissions calculations in order to align with the UNGTB methodology.