Sustainability Report 2005

(03/06, En)


As our first effort to report on our commitments to promote sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean, this review provides a baseline of information for future reporting, which will be more fully developed in the coming years. The document reviews activities, data, and experiences from 2004 and 2005 for two members of the IDB Group: the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).

This first publication is a "review" because it looks back at the Bank's work over recent years. It also outines future actions required to achieve the IDB's sustainability agenda. The Bank will improve this publication as it develops new mechanisms and indicators to capture sustainability impacts and outcomes and report on them effectively, rather than simply reviewing them. Understanding the inherent challenges in this, the Bank has designed a gradual reporting schedule that will take it from where it is today to a "steady state" annual Sustainability Report by 2009.

The IDB made a firm commitment in 2005 to issue its first sustainability review in 2006. This commitment was endorsed by the recommendations of a Blue Ribbon Panel established by the IDB in 2004 to advise the Bank on ways it can better contribute to achieving sustainability in the region. The Panel recommended that the IDB report publicly on its efforts in this area. The Bank is also identifying ways to "green" its own corporate activities, including actions to fulfill its corporate responsibilities and reduce its environmental footprint. This first review describes some of these efforts; the Bank will report upon them more fully in future issues. This review presents important information to the Bank's stakeholders, internal and external. It is not intended to cover the same information as the Annual Report or be a subset of it, but rather to stand on its own, complementing other reports, such as the Annual Report on Economic and Social Progress in Latin America, the Annual Report on Portfolio Management, Performance and Results, and the Annual Poverty Report.

The IDB hopes that this first Sustainability Review is both useful and interesting. It looks forward to comments and suggestions that will help improve the report in coming years.



Last updated: 02/01/07