The IFC Exclusion List defines the types of projects that IFC does not finance.
IFC does not finance the following projects:
Production or trade in any product or activity deemed illegal under host country laws or regulations or international conventions and agreements, or subject to international bans, such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides/herbicides, ozone depleting substances, PCB's, wildlife or products regulated under CITES.
Production or trade in weapons and munitions.1
Production or trade in alcoholic beverages (excluding beer and wine).1
Production or trade in tobacco.1
Gambling, casinos and equivalent enterprises.1
Production or trade in radioactive materials. This does not apply to the purchase of medical equipment, quality control (measurement) equipment and any equipment where IFC considers the radioactive source to be trivial and/or adequately shielded.
Production or trade in unbonded asbestos fibers. This does not apply to purchase and use of bonded asbestos cement sheeting where the asbestos content is less than 20%.
Drift net fishing in the marine environment using nets in excess of 2.5 km. in length.
A reasonableness test will be applied when the activities of the project company would have a significant development impact but circumstances of the country require adjustment to the Exclusion List.
All financial intermediaries (FIs), except those engaged in activities specified below*, must apply the following exclusions, in addition to IFC's Exclusion List:
Production or activities involving harmful or exploitative forms of forced labor2/harmful child labor.3
Commercial logging operations for use in primary tropical moist forest.
Production or trade in wood or other forestry products other than from sustainably managed forests.
* When investing in microfinance activities, FIs will apply the following items in addition to the IFC Exclusion List:
Production or activities involving harmful or exploitative forms of forced labor2/harmful child labor.3
Production, trade, storage, or transport of significant volumes of hazardous chemicals, or commercial scale usage of hazardous chemicals.Hazardous chemicals include gasoline, kerosene, and other petroleum products.
Production or activities that impinge on the lands owned, or claimed under adjudication, by Indigenous Peoples, without full documented consent of such peoples.
* Trade finance projects, given the nature of the transactions, FIs will apply the following items in addition to the IFC Exclusion List:
Production or activities involving harmful or exploitative forms of forced labor2/harmful child labor.3
Footnotes
1 This does not apply to project sponsors who are not substantially involved in these activities. "Not substantially involved" means that the activity concerned is ancillary to a project sponsor's primary operations.
2 Forced labor means all work or service, not voluntarily performed, that is extracted from an individual under threat of force or penalty.
3 Harmful child labor means the employment of children that is economically exploitive, or is likely to be hazardous to, or to interfere with, the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health, or physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development.