Economic development on sustainable bases and support for environmental conservation initiatives and for investments of a social nature are part of the BNDES’ commitment to present and future generations.

The BNDES not only respects social and environmental principles when granting credit, but also maintains its commitment to providing adequate funding to foster socially and environmentally sustainable efforts.

Fostering sustainable development, proactively and in all the projects supported, is the main objective of the Bank’s Socioenvironmental Policy, focusing on the integration of economic, social, environmental and regional aspects.

Socioenvironmental Policy Guidelines

The following guidelines will guide the work of the BNDES within the scope of its Social and Environmental Policy:

• To act in accordance with the current public policies and legislations, in particular with provisions in the National Environmental Policy;
• To continuously develop and improve financial products with social and environmental objectives and to incorporate social and environmental criteria in other products, when appropriate;
• To offer different conditions for financial support to projects with social and environmental additionalities and projects that address environmental damage;
• To deem the approach to social and environmental dimensions a strategic issue in the analysis of financial assistance, in the management of assets and in the analysis of risk to beneficiaries and undertakings;
• To continuously develop and improve methodologies and analytical, monitoring and assessment tools, incorporating social and environmental criteria;
• To respect the recommendations and restrictions of ecological-economic zoning and agro-ecological zoning, if applicable;
• To support agricultural and forestry projects related to opening new areas only when consistent with ecological-economic zoning;
• To monitor the employment impacts of undertakings and consider the policies of the BNDES System related to human rights and to the protection of people with disabilities;
• To foster eco-efficiency in undertakings supported, adopting socially and environmentally sustainable processes and products, using management systems throughout the supply chain and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs);
• To foster and guide the adoption of efforts to prevent and mitigate social impact and unsuitable environments;
• To continuously expand and update information on the patterns of impact and socioenvironmental, energy and GHG emissions performance in key economic sectors, as well as on the evolution of different technological paths and innovations;
• To continuously expand and update knowledge concerning sustainable development as well as social and environmental responsibility while sharing information and experiences with beneficiaries, financial institutions and other organizations, seeking dialogue and fostering the integration of efforts to strengthen the approach to social and environmental dimensions as a strategic issue. 

Socioenvironmental Instruments

The BNDES provides the following tools to implement and pursue the goals of socioenvironmental policy:

• Products, lines, programs and reimbursable and non-reimbursable funds for financial support for initiatives and investments in the Environment and Social and Regional Development.
• Sector resolutions, specific policies and other regulations.
• Internal socioenvironmental guides, assessment methodologies of beneficiaries, assessment of credit risk and monitoring and impact assessment of projects supported.
• Internal procedures for risk assessment and for social and environmental analysis of beneficiaries and undertakings seeking financial support.
• To grant financial assistance, the following are respected: applicable legislation; the beneficiary’s policy of social and environmental responsibility; environmental compliance; environmental risk of the undertaking, in addition to social and environmental practices that raise the level of competitiveness of organizations and economic sectors and contribute to the improvement of social and environmental factors, not only of undertakings, but also of the country.
• Based on this analysis, the Bank may, for example, recommend the project be revised; offer resources to strengthen mitigation measures to stimulate the achievement of social and environmental investments by the beneficiaries; and even refuse financial support due to non-compliance or social and environmental risks.
• Agreements and protocols to which the BNDES is a signatory, sharing information and experiences through the dialogue channels and the dissemination of socioenvironmental efforts of the Bank also contribute to implementing the Socioenvironmental Policy.