About the Social Responsibility Program at IFC

The Social Responsibility Program is responsible for:

• developing projects to help IFC clients and the private sector better manage the social dimensions of doing business and adopt corporate strategies to mitigate social and environmental impacts, realize opportunities, and reduce risks of market exclusion
• identifying and defining the business case for responsible business practices
• disseminating and replicating those practices and findings throughout the private sector in emerging markets

Social Responsibility delivers these objectives through four program areas:

• Community Investment Strategies
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategies and Sustainability Reporting
• Competitiveness through Labor Standards
• Business and Human Rights

The Program is available to IFC clients who want to realize opportunities to grow their business through enhanced social and environmental performance. It encourages innovation through the development of strategies, new processes, or services related to social responsibility. It addresses social challenges with long-lasting impact on affected stakeholders. As per IFC’s pricing policy, participating companies must cost-share for all private benefits accrued to their enterprise.

The Program currently focuses its work on general manufacturing and the extractive sectors - where demand is particularly high - though it is still available in other sectors. It is currently active in:

Brazil Cambodia China Colombia Haiti

India Jordan Mexico Vietnam

The team continues to explore ways to become more proactive in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and East Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa regions.

It works closely with the Oil, Gas and Mining Sustainable Community Development Fund (CommDev), the Gender Entrepreneurship Markets Program (GEM) and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) program, to achieve economies of scale and increase impact and consistency in our projects. The Program aims to generate corporate buy-in and raise internal awareness that can increase the demand for and effectiveness of IFC advisory services.