Manual or Guideline

Special Guidance: Disclosure and Transparency in Crisis - Increasing Resilience and Building Trust During and After COVID-19

February 25, 2021

In this period of high uncertainty, it is important for businesses to proactively communicate how they are responding to the crisis to their investors and stakeholders—including their employees, their customers, and the communities in which they are operating.

This Special Guidance is designed to help both listed and privately-owned companies disclose what they are doing to manage the economic, environmental, and social impacts of the pandemic, using IFC’s Disclosure and Transparency Framework, which is focused on strategy, governance, and performance.

The guidance promotes the issuance of standardized corporate reports and data – and provides investors and key stakeholders with the information they need to assess company resiliency, preparedness, and continued management of material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues both during and after the crisis. It can also provide guidance for stock exchanges and regulators adapting their disclosure and transparency framework during COVID-19.