Procurement

IFC's goal is to choose environmentally and socially responsible products and services for our daily operations. This not only improves our footprint, but sends an important message to our suppliers.

Certain vendors, including the suppliers to our headquarters in Washington, DC, of food services, office supplies, and travel, are selected by the Corporate Procurement Unit of the World Bank Group. The World Bank Group is committed to corporate responsibility, and therefore evaluates vendors' commitments to fair wages and benefits, safety, environmental programs, and diversity of its supply chain.

Some specific examples of efforts IFC has taken to integrate sustainability into our procurement guidelines and procedures include the following:

• Including green office design criteria for country office construction — IFC emphasized responsible labor practices and environmental sustainability in the bidding and contract documents of several country office construction administrative procurements. IFC also included green office design criteria in the request for proposals for architectural services for two new country offices in London, UK, and Accra, Ghana.
  
  
• Sourcing sustainable furniture in IFC's Africa offices — for the new IFC offices being built in Sub-Saharan Africa, IFC is sourcing local furniture that incorporates sustainable forestry and other environmentally responsible practices in its manufacturing, particularly with regard to any wood products and glues involved in the fabrication. The furniture bid includes a provision that no child labor is allowed and the requirement that 50 percent of furniture must be of African origin.
  
  
• Accrediting IFC staff in our Facilities Team with LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design) Accreditation.
  
  
• Reviewing current procurement contracts to reinforce footprint commitments — IFC has committed to reviewing all procurement documents and types of goods procured to reinforce our footprint commitment. This will be done under a new Procurement Task Force and will eventually lead to modifications to current procurement contracts and bidding documents to strengthen environmental and social requirements for vendors and their products and services.

Spotlight: Cairo - Working with APE, a local NGO

As part of its commitment to the IFC Footprint Program, IFC’s Cairo office is working with the Association for the Protection of the Environment (APE), a civil society organization that works with the poor. The office provides both new office equipment donated from their frequent flyer program, and their recycled office paper to APE. The NGO passes on the paper to a group of 250 young women, who recycle it and produce cards, envelopes, and other items that are sold at markets and shops -- a unique combination of entrepreneurship and environmentalism. This commitment to environmental sustainability works to help hundreds of Egyptian women to learn skills and earn a living.