Enterprises that have the below listed characteristics in relation to sectors, location or generated impacts should be classified in Socioenvironmental Category A, except for those whose negative impacts are limited and reversible, of low relevance or that involve easily identifiable mitigating measures. In respect to these last cases, the enterprises can be classified in Socioenvironmental Category B:

1. Critical sectors, such as those listed below:
   1. mining;
   2. forestry;
   3. oil and gas;
   4. oil pipelines;
   5. hydropower, dams and reservoirs; electricity production (renewable and cogeneration);
   6. electrical power lines and distribution lines or underwater electrical cables;
   7. roads, railways and bridges;
   8. airports;
   9. ports;
   10. water supply and building of sewage networks in environmentally sensitive locations;
   11. waste management and disposal;
   12. chemical industry;
   13. refineries;
   14. thermoelectric plants;
   15. paper and cellulose pulp;
   16. large-scale agriculture involving deforestation and/or irrigation;
   17. metallurgical industry;
   18. leather and fur industry; and
   19. other processes that cause significant adverse impacts.
        
2. Located in socially and environmentally sensitive areas, such as:
   1. national parks and other protected areas identified by national or international law;
   2. sensitive sites of international importance (Ramsar Convention sites, IUCN protected areas – International Union for Conservation of Nature and UNESCO World Heritage sites);
   3. primary forests or natural forests in tropical areas, as well as other forests with high biodiversity value;
   4. areas of archaeological or cultural importance; and
   5. areas of importance for indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups.
       
3. Other characteristics of the enterprise result in social and environmentally sensitive impacts, such as:
   1. enterprises with large-scale involuntary resettlement, as a result of the interventions;
   2. enterprises with significant groundwater pumping activity; and
   3. enterprises involving large-scale logging or intense deforestation for other purposes.