In 2011, Groupe Banque Populaire put in place an Environmental and Social Management System incorporated into the overall approach to risk assessment that precedes grants of financing, and that enables:
• The financial institution’s activities to be made compliant with social and environmental standards
• Avoiding giving finance to projects with high social and environmental risks
• Reasonable social and environmental due diligence to be set up before disbursement
• Adequate project-monitoring to be done during the repayment period
A rigorous four-stage process:
1.SELECTION :
a. Exclusion list :
The exclusion list refers to illegal activities, armaments, alcohol, tobacco, games of chance, radioactive materials, materials containing asbestos fibres, certain activities related to deep-sea fishing, activities in tropical rainforests, wood or forest assets originating from forests that are not sustainably managed, and activities involving child labour forced labour.
b. Categorisation :
A for significant impact, B for limited impact, C for minimal or no impact and for services, and FI for projects involving financial intermediation.
2.ASSESSMENT :
Assessing environmental and social risks is done by using questionnaires that cover all potential environmental and social impacts, i.e. solid and liquid wastes, greenhouse-gas emissions, and the production or use of hazardous materials.
3.CONTRACTUALISATION :
Corrective-action plans have contractual value and are monitored by business managers in the course of their relationship with the customer.
4.CONTROL AND MONITORING :
Control and monitoring are carried out through progress reports sent by customers and through periodic site visits made by business managers.