Bangladesh

Bangladesh. Photo: Scott Wallace / World Bank

Key Activities

The Bangladesh Integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance Project provides targeted interventions at four levels to strengthen the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) enabling environment and adoption of good ESG practices by companies and regulators.

Regulatory Level

The project is currently aimed at contributing to updating the ESG Code, developing sustainability bond guidelines for the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, and helping implement the Sustainable Finance Policy issued by Bangladesh Bank, partnering with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Central Bank of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Bank).

Market Level 

The project builds the capacity of market intermediaries to create an ESG market by providing support and guiding companies toward sustainability in key priority sectors such as financial, renewable energy, value-added manufacturing, and agribusiness. The project works with institutes such as Bangladesh Institute of Capital Market, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management, Bangladesh Bank Training Academy, LightCastle Partners, and Greencroft Economics.

Financial Institutions Level

The project aims to improve the capacity of financial institutions to implement ESG practices and support banks to upgrade their environmental, social, and climate risk management processes.

Firm Level 

The project helps improve the ESG practices of high-risk real sector clients and provide them with advisory services on ESG risk management, aligned with requirements of the IFC Performance Standards and the Corporate Governance Methodology to help meet IFC investment requirements. 

Major Achievements

IFC has previously supported several milestone policy reforms in Bangladesh, such as Securities and Exchange Commission Corporate Governance Code in 2018, Circular on Formation and Responsibilities of Board of Directors of a Bank Company, and Bangladesh Bank Circular on Transactions with Bank-Related Persons. Three policies were developed with IFC’s technical assistance: Sustainable Finance Policy issued by Bangladesh Bank, Policy on Green Bond Financing for Banks and Financial Institutions, and Guidelines on Environmental and Social Risk Management for Banks and Financial Institutions. 

Other Resources
Our Development Partners

The Bangladesh Integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance Project is implemented in partnership with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. 

integrated esg

Our Local Partners

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