ISDB

ISDB publicly commits to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Moreover, it has an Environmental and Social (ES) Safeguards Policy where it describes its clients monitoring of ES standards, as well as related escalation points in case of non-compliance.

ISDB discloses the aggregate amount of its green Sukuk which are in accordance with the Green Bond Principles and the Sustainability Bond Guidelines. Furthermore, it continues to mainstream climate action in its operations with a target of 35 percent climate finance by 2025. The DFI engages on biodiversity topics by means of its sustainable finance framework as it has in place indicative impact reporting metrics for environmentally sustainable management of natural living resources and land use projects. Moreover, ISDB discloses the monetary amount of green Sukuk proceeds in 2020 by sector, including environmentally sustainable management of natural living resources and land use and sustainable water and wastewater management.

ISDB discloses the amount of finance it directs towards micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and provides evidence of a grievance mechanism accessible to all workers, external individuals, and communities to raise human rights complaints.

There is no evidence that ISDB links the remuneration of its executive or management teams to sustainability performance criteria. In terms of female representation in leadership positions, women are underrepresented on the board of directors where only four out of 19 board members are women. Further, ISDB has an opportunity to disclose the proportion of women in senior leadership roles as well as how it addresses any gender pay gaps. Moreover, the DFI could publish how the Social Safeguards Policy is applied in practice.

While ISDB plans to align its operations and portfolio with the Paris Agreements, it does not disclose yet a target to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050. Additionally, it supports member countries in mitigating their emissions but has an opportunity to disclose the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the alignment with the Paris Agreement. Moreover, ISDB could report on progress against the targets it has set for its climate finance. While the DFI recognises nature protection and biodiversity as part of its climate focus, it does not disclose a clear commitment to minimising its impacts on biodiversity.

There is no evidence that ISDB has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights, the ILO core labour right, and the health and safety of workers. It also has an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially its financing activities. Moreover, the DFI could provide evidence of the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by age group and gender. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, ISDB has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards women-owned businesses and low-income developing countries.