IFC Excluded Activities

• Production or activities involving harmful or exploitative forms of forced labor 1/harmful child labor 2
• Production or trade in any product or activity deemed illegal under host country laws or regulations or international conventions and agreements.
• Production or trade in weapons and amunitions 3.
• Production or trade in alcoholic beverages (excluding beer and wine 3)
• Production or trade in tobacco 3
• Gambling, casinos and equivalent enterprises 3
• Trade in wildlife or wildlife products regulated under CITES 4
• Production or trade in radioactive materials 5
• Production or trade in or use of unbounded asbestos fibers 6
• Commercial logging operations or the purchase of logging equipment for use in primary tropical moist forest prohibited by the Forestry Policy 7
• Production or trade in products containing PCB's 8
• Production or trade in pharmaceutical subject to international phase outs or bans 9
• Production or trade in pesticides/herbicides subject to international phase outs or bans 10.
• Production or trade in ozone depleting substances subject to international phase out 11.
• Drift net fishing in the marine environment using nets in excess of 2.5km in length.

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IFC Category A Transactions

(This document is available for download)

These are transactions likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts that are sensitive, diverse or unprecedented. Certain transactions/projects in the following fields may fall into this category:

A. Large dams and reservoirs.

B. Forestry (large scale).

C. Agro-industries (large scale).

D. Industrial plants (large scale).

E. Major oil and gas developments, including major pipelines.

F. Large ferrous and non-ferrous metal operations.

G. Large port and harbor developments.

H. Projects with large resettlement components and all projects with potentially major impacts on human populations.

I. Projects affecting indigenous or tribal populations.

J. Large thermal and hydropower developments.

K. Projects that include the manufacture, use or disposal of

environmentally significant quantities of pest control products.

L. Manufacture, transportation, and use of hazardous and/or toxic materials.

M. Domestic and hazardous waste disposal operations.

N. Projects, which pose serious occupational or health risks.

O. Projects, which pose serious socio economic

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1. Forced labor means all work or service, not voluntarily performed that is extracted from an individual under threat of force or penalty.

2. Harmful child labor means the employment of children that is economically exploitative, or is likely to be hazardous to, or to interfere with, the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health, or physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development.

3. This does not apply to project sponsors who are not substantially involved in these activities. "Not substantially involved" means that the activity concerned is ancillary to a project sponsor's primary operations.

4. CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fuana and Flora. A list of CITES listed species is available from the Environment Division.

5. This does not apply to the purchase of medical equipment, quality control (measurement) equipment and any equipment where IFC considers the radioactive source to be trivial and/or adequately shielded.

6. This does not apply to the purchase and use of bonded asbestos cement sheeting where the asbestos content is 20%.

7. See IFC OP 4.36, Forestry (under review)

8. PCBs: Polychlorinated biphenyls - a group of highly toxic chemicals. PCBs are likely to be found in oil-filled electrical transformers, capacitors and switchgear dating from 1950 - 1985.

9. A list of pharmaceutical products subject to phase outs or bans is available from the Environment Division.

10. A list of pesticides and herbicides subject to phase outs or bans is available from the Environment Division.

11. Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs): Chemical compounds which react with and deplete stratospheric ozone, resulting in the widely publicised 'ozone holes'. The Montreal protocol lists ODSs and their target reduction and phase out dates. A list of the chemical compounds regulated by the Montreal Protocol, which includes aerosols, refrigerants, foam blowing agents, solvents, and fire protection agents, together with details of signatory countries and phase out target dates, is available from the Environment Division.

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