All of IFC’s agribusiness projects must meet our Environmental Guidelines and Policies, including specific safeguard policies on Natural Habitats, Pest Management and Forestry that prevent projects from doing significant harm to the environment. Beyond this "do no harm" requirement, however, there are a range of "do good" opportunities in agribusiness projects that are specifically designed to minimize environmental impacts. These "sustainable" agribusiness projects use production methods that protect and/or conserve natural resources, promote sustainable use of land and water, and substitute exploitation of wild stocks (e.g. fish through sustainable aquaculture).
These opportunities fall into several areas:
- Promoting better practices which conserve resources - Including farming systems that conserve soil and water, forestry and fisheries activities that are based on sustainable management plans. Additionally, EFG can advise on biodiversity action plans and other initiatives that can promote wider conservation benefits (e.g. via adjacent protected areas and buffer zones) and can provide guidance on the cultivation of underutilized agricultural species and wild relatives of domesticated species, which helps to conserve alternative crops, strains of crops, and the overall agricultural gene pool.
- Addressing indirect impacts - Ensuring that agribusiness and forestry activity operators understand and mitigate indirect impacts that may be apparent in supply chains, or through the introduction of non-native species, ensuring adjacent habitats and biological resources are not adversely affected by chemical use, etc.
- New markets and opportunities - Identifying and helping to develop new market opportunities based on enhanced environmental and social performance (e.g. certification systems based on fair trade and sustainable production standards, such as shade coffee).
To date, we have assisted one agricultural company to receive organic certification and will continue to focus on certified organic projects that have strong commercial prospects and, if possible, additional environmental benefits (e.g., located in a buffer zone near a protected area). This includes work with distributors and buyers in developed markets to support new sources of supply from developing countries.