A 9-member advisory group created in 2004 by IDB president Enrique V. Iglesias to advice on the Bank’s new Environment and Safeguards Compliance Policy, had a two-day working session with IDB managers and environmental experts to discuss the policy draft and the Bank´s role in supporting countries in the Region achieve sustainable development. The group will issue a final report on the IDB policy, currently under public consultation, in the near future.
The advisory group, known as the Blue Ribbon Panel, was created to provide advice on how the IDB can best position itself as a positive force and leader in sustainability in the region through its new environmental policy.
The new policy is part of an overall effort by the IDB to establish new directions toward sustainability through its operations and the promotion of environmentally sound development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Blue Ribbon Panel, chaired by former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, includes: Environment Secretary for the State of São Paulo, José Goldemberg; HSBC Group Chief Executive, Stephen Green; former Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology Commission Chairman, Lynn Holowesko; IUCN past President, Yolanda Kakabadse; the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment President, Thomas Lovejoy; former EPA Administrator, William Reilly; former Minister of the Environment for Colombia, Juan Mayr Maldonado; and UN Under-Secretary general, Maurice Strong.