Blogs
Photo by Wemajor Pictures
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Visiting Senior Fellow The London School of Economics and Political Science
The energy transition will require vast amounts of additional mineral extraction… Environmental activists need to ramp up engagement and collaboration with the mining industry if the energy transition is to be secured, however uncomfortable it makes them, argues Daniel Litvin. … He highlights five points to encourage a constructive conversation. Read the full article by […]
Mining companies and stakeholders in the mining sector are increasingly acknowledging the tremendous potential and essential role of women in the minerals industry. The same trend is visible in the international discourse on climate change. This blog explores how women are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental degradation. It looks at how important it […]
Amid all the attention to environmental, social, and governance factors in investing, better known as ESG, there has been relatively little emphasis on governance, and even less on data governance. This is a significant oversight that needs to be addressed, as data governance has a crucial role to play in achieving environmental and social goals.
Gender equity and environmental sustainability may seem like unrelated issues, but research shows that they are in fact closely intertwined. Women and other underserved groups are disproportionately impacted by the global climate crisis, but they are also uniquely positioned to lead the fight for sustainability. In this piece, the authors offer six strategies to help […]
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The IFC - International Finance Corporation focuses on supporting the private sector in developing countries.
Sustainability-linked bonds are a promising pillar of sustainable finance that can help raise the funding needed to underpin successful energy transitions in developing economies. The bonds’ structure as well as how they are regulated will need to evolve to meet the demands of a fast-growing and maturing market. Read full article on IFC.org
In many parts of the world, the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be over and lives are back to pre-pandemic normal. This is not the case for everyone, however. The shadow cast by the pandemic is long and still defines the lives of children, especially in low-and middle-income countries of the world. Read […]
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Program Manager Sustainable Infra Advisory, IFC
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Senior Operations Officer Sustainable Infra Advisory, IFC
It’s an unfortunate truth: Communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change—many of them located in developing countries and near the operating spheres of infrastructure companies—often have the least access to the information that could help them strengthen their climate resilience. This is a problem of global scale because failure to address local-level climate […]
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UN Women is the global champion for gender equality, working to develop and uphold standards and create an environment in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential.
From online learning and digital activism to the rapid expansion of high-paying tech jobs, the digital age has generated unprecedented opportunities for the empowerment of women and girls. But advancing technology is also introducing new forms of inequality and heightened threats to their rights and well-being. Read the full story on UNWomen.org
Women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have outperformed many other regions in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality, and tertiary education. Yet, increased educational attainment has not led to an increase in their economic participation. As countries look at measures to bring more women into the workforce, public transport systems must be […]
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The IFC - International Finance Corporation focuses on supporting the private sector in developing countries.
Online learning can offer educational options and professional opportunities to many women in emerging economies who would otherwise face limited choices. New research from IFC, developed in partnership with Coursera and the European Commission, shows that digital education that responds to the needs and circumstances of women in emerging markets “promotes gender equality and offers […]
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Global Manager Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory, IFC
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Group Head, Intl Government & Sustainability Relations Anglo American
Newsflash: Sustainability-Linked Finance (SLF) isn’t just about climate. In fact, leading infrastructure companies like Brazil-based energy firm Neoenergia and global mining consortium, Anglo American are embracing the use of key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure their social performance, as part of their SLF frameworks. These social metrics must meet strict requirements to ensure relevance, benchmarkability, […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the tremendous potential of digitalization. Marked by the uptick in digital government-to-people payments and the demand for digital solutions from governments, more and more countries are adopting and adapting to digital technology. From communicating across borders to delivering essential services, digital technology is transforming how people go about their daily […]
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Head of Investor Relations & Sustainable Finance Coordinator IFC
It is frequently asserted that the S in ESG is difficult to define and monitor for impact. BNP Paribas’ 2019 global ESG survey shows that 46% of investors surveyed deemed the ‘S’ to be the most challenging to analyze and incorporate into investing strategies. I frequently made light of the fact that ‘social’ was the […]
The energy sector remains one of the least gender-diverse sectors, and the Caribbean is no exception. Girls tend to be steered away from science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields from as early as primary school years. There remains the prevailing perception of women’s inferiority in performing more technical work and that engineering is a […]
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Research Specialist United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
From a macro-economic perspective, applying a gender-lens to infrastructure development would increase the total GDP in OECD countries by 2.5% by 2050. Developing safe and quality infrastructure that is gender-responsive is therefore vital to an inclusive green economy. While good practices and actions exist, many countries still face multi-faceted challenges, ranging from awareness and capacity to […]
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The IFC - International Finance Corporation focuses on supporting the private sector in developing countries.
Halting degradation and restoring biodiversity represents an important business opportunity for infrastructure companies, and emerging markets seeking to create new green jobs. This opportunity, estimated at over $6.5 trillion per year, is expected to generate more than 204 million new jobs by 2030. To help companies and investors identify opportunities for biodiversity finance, IFC has […]
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Global Director of the Infrastructure Finance, PPPs & Guarantees Group, World Bank
After spending two weeks at COP27, something that struck me is the triad of urgent needs: supporting the transition to net-zero economies, protecting emerging and developing economies from mounting and increasingly severe climate risks, and promoting universal access to basic services for millions of households around the globe that are left behind. Low-carbon, climate-smart infrastructure […]
Urban areas need a variety of assets called social infrastructure combined with roads and buildings. Nature-Based Infrastructure (NBI) solutions harness nature to provide infrastructure service. Nature-based solutions take inspiration from forests, mangroves, wetlands, and grasslands, and the resultant can be engineered or grey structures. Apart from functioning as a basic infrastructure, it enables and supports […]
The mining industry remains one of the world’s biggest polluters, yet it remains a cornerstone of the world’s industries. Digital and data will play a key role in supporting miners to execute sustainability roadmaps, including through providing greater visibility across asset performance and operations, and better monitoring of energy and water consumption. Giles Crosse investigates […]
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Regional Industry Senior Manager for Infrastructure, Europe & Central Asia, IFC
It’s amply clear that building resilience with an eye on sustainable growth is the only way forward in an increasingly uncertain world. Sustainability has already been a priority in emerging Europe. The devastating impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and more recently the extreme drought hitting much of Europe, potentially the worst […]
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Global Director, Gender, The World Bank Group
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Global Director, Climate Change Group, World Bank Group
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Mary Porter Peschka is the Director - Sustainability (ESG) and Gender Solutions at IFC - International Finance Corporation, a part of the World Bank Group.
As leaders gather in Sharm el-Sheikh for COP27, everyone is thinking about how to accelerate global climate action in a world facing multiple crises. Doing this will require greening entire economies and making transformative investments to reduce emissions, scale up adaptation, and build resilience. Women and girls are at the heart of this. Read the […]
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UN Women is the global champion for gender equality, working to develop and uphold standards and create an environment in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential.
Gender inequality and the climate crisis are two of the most urgent challenges of today. As we better understand and make the critical connections between gender, social equity and climate change, it’s time we take action towards solutions. From increasing women’s representation in leadership and decision-making to redistributing care-work and productive resources, progress towards a […]
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The IFC - International Finance Corporation focuses on supporting the private sector in developing countries.
The question of how the world finances the transition to net zero by 2050 hangs in the balance. Sustainable finance is the future of finance. However, to avoid ‘sustainability washing,’ issuers and investors must do their homework even more thoroughly to ensure targets are material, ambitious, and robust.
Photo by Antoine GIRET on Unsplash 
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and with little warning, municipalities suddenly faced unique waste management challenges: massive upticks in daily waste volumes combined with curtailed garbage collection and cutbacks in recycling. While workplace waste production fell at the pandemic’s height, household waste rose to a degree that offset the decrease in commercial waste. […]
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash 
The impacts of the climate crisis are rapidly intensifying, as evidenced by deadly heatwaves. Beyond slowing the pace of global warming, we must also protect our communities and adapt to living in a changing climate.
As we build the global climate finance architecture, Indigenous Peoples and local communities must have a seat at the table.
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Global Head of Mining, IFC
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Senior Operations Officer Sustainable Infra Advisory, IFC
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Manager of Climate Intelligence, RMI
Here’s a sobering truth: To meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to rapidly transition towards a low-carbon economy. But the question is: How is this going to be accomplished? It will mean doubling down on everything from electric vehicles (EV) to renewable energy sources like wind […]
Companies’ efforts to improve their environmental, social and governance credentials have given birth to a new type of debt – sustainability-linked finance – that links interest rates to ESG performance. But the majority of these instruments’ targets are mostly linked to issuers’ environmental impact, and not the impact they may have on the people they employ or the communities they affect.
With the pandemic bringing social issues to the fore and calls for a just transition to Net Zero, this could soon be about to change.
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Head of Investor Relations & Sustainable Finance Coordinator IFC
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Sustainable Finance Lead, Infrastructure IFC
A remarkable new trend is taking hold in the world of infrastructure finance. Sustainable Finance—investments structured with environmental, social, and governance criteria—saw unprecedented growth in 2021, reaching over $1.6 trillion in total annual issuance and more than doubling 2020 volumes. Why is the rise of Sustainable Finance a big deal? Because it offers tangible evidence […]
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Regional Industry Sr. Manager Latin America & the Caribbean, IFC
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Country Manager Andean Region, IFC
Así es como luce la angustia en redes sociales: “Conozco el caso de una mujer y su hija que están en riesgo. Su pareja las golpea, la amenazó de muerte (…)”. Una muestra más: “Soy madre soltera cabeza de hogar de un joven con discapacidad, ahora estoy sin empleo, no hay subsidio al desempleo, la […]
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Regional Industry Sr. Manager Latin America & the Caribbean, IFC
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Country Manager Andean Region, IFC
The City of Bogota and IFC leveraged “social listening” techniques, analyzing millions of public social media mentions about Covid-19 stresses faced by women.
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Director & Regional Head of Industry, Asia Pacific, Infrastructure, IFC
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Regional Industry Senior Manager for Infrastructure, Europe & Central Asia, IFC
As cities look to realize a future vision of green, resilient, and inclusive urban infrastructure, citizen-centered digital services and solutions are more important than ever.
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Directrice régionale de l'IFC pour les infrastructures et les ressources naturelles en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient
Elles figurent toutes les deux parmi les cheffes d’entreprise qui ont bénéficié d’un programme de soutien aux femmes entrepreneures organisé par IFC et le Canada en Côte d’Ivoire, au Ghana, en Guinée et au Kenya. L’objectif ? Les doter des compétences nécessaires pour tirer parti des débouchés commerciaux offerts par les investissements à grande échelle dans les infrastructures et les ressources naturelles.
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Regional Industry Director for Infrastructure, Middle East & Africa, IFC
A program sponsored by IFC and Canada that supports women entrepreneurs in Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, and Kenya. It boosts women’s business management skills so they can take advantage of the economic opportunities linked to large infrastructure and natural resource investments.
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Program Manager Sustainable Infra Advisory, IFC
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Upstream Lead Infrastructure, Europe & Central Asia, IFC
Few places on earth have been spared the scourge of COVID-19. But cities—with close living quarters, dense populations, health care centers, markets, train stations and airports—have borne the brunt of the crisis, with higher rates of infection and devastating public and private sector impacts. A recent UN study estimates that urban areas account for 90 […]
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Member of the Advisory Committee of the IFC-Canada Africa Local Economic Development Program
With the entire globe focused on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, every business–along with their finance and development partners—must ask the question “How should we respond? How will we recover? How does this impact our value chains?”
As companies formulate COVID-19 response plans, those which address gender-specific vulnerabilities will amplify their effectiveness. Ultimately, the pandemic reinforces the case for stakeholder capitalism: when business acts in the interests of society, we realize mutual gains, increase shared value, and bolster resilience in ways that were not previously possible.
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Global Manager Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory, IFC
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Program Manager Sustainable Infra Advisory, IFC
In our recent blog, we looked at three ways to keep vulnerable segments of the population — women and youth — from being left behind in the digital divide. Digital transformation and the renewed focus on the sustainability of mining offer great opportunities for the industry — it will help companies refresh their brands and […]
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Global Manager Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory, IFC
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Program Manager Sustainable Infra Advisory, IFC
Data is the new gold. You may not wear it on your finger or store it in a bank, but you can use it to stimulate growth, create power, and exert influence. The digital economy, fueled by data, is growing faster than the traditional economy. But unlike talent, opportunity is not distributed equally. Youth in […]
Should renewable energy developers invest in vocational training? Job creation? Home repair? The answer, based on best practice in emerging markets around the world, is unequivocally yes – with community investment designed to match local priorities. The most successful companies in the solar and wind energy sectors are recognizing that the success of their projects […]
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International Finance Corporation
The African continent is endowed with an abundance of resources, both natural as well as human capital.
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Member of the Advisory Committee of the IFC-Canada Africa Local Economic Development Program
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Global Head, National Resources Infrastructure & Natural Resources Advisory, IFC
Transparency. Accountability. Good governance. Are the natural resource sectors there yet? Through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), Publish What You Pay, National Resource Governance Institute, and the International Council on Mining and Metals, among others, our understanding of these interrelated goals has evolved. We have learned that transparency alone – simply making information available to the public – […]
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Operations Officer Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory, IFC
To ensure business success, infrastructure and natural resources projects need to bring clear social and economic benefits to local stakeholders.
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International Finance Corporation
The innovative web platform ‘Municipio al Dia’ (www.municipioaldia.com), promoted by Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP), a Peruvian think tank, and IFC with the support of the Government of Canada, was certified as a Good Practice in Public Management by the prestigious NGO Ciudadanos al Dia. ‘Municipio al Dia,’ a free online information and advisory service […]
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Specialist Leader, Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Deloitte Consulting
We seem to be inundated by new, emerging technologies, both physical and digital, plus all the breakthroughs in biotechnology.
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Water Stewardship Specialist WWF International
Last year I was asked to be involved in a joint publication from the International Council for Mining & Metals (ICMM) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which explored the issue of collective action on water resources in the mining sector, with a strong focus on Mongolia. While WWF did not end up authoring the […]
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Mongolia Country Representative Global Green Growth Institute
Ulaanbaatar—Mongolia’s geography and people have long been accustomed to the vagaries of its landlocked, extreme climate.
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Co-Founder WomenEng / WomHub
The African continent is endowed with an abundance of resources, both natural as well as human capital.
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International Finance Corporation
A pioneering initiative implemented by IFC with support from the Government of Canada to promote good governance practices in the highlands of Peru has helped local leaders and municipal authorities prioritize municipal investments for the next 3 years so as to respond to unattended basic local needs. This effort is part of a larger initiative […]
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International Finance Corporation
With support from the Government of Canada and industry partners, IFC has provided thousands of people with training and provided support to dozens of communities to ensure that large-footprint development projects benefit those who live and operate businesses near them. IFC Advisory programs in Latin America, West Africa, and Mongolia have also empowered stakeholders to […]
