Internally developed statements of mission or values, codes of conduct, and principles relevant to economic, environmental, and social performance and the status of their implementation

Internally developed statements of mission or values, codes of conduct, and principles relevant to economic, environmental, and social performance and the status of their implementation

• Reference Number: 4.8
• Related Status: Reported
• GRI Status: Core GRI Indicator

The EIB’s mission is to further the objectives of the European Union by making long-term finance available for sound investment. In addition, the EIB is at the service of the Union and aims to provide a value-added service via its partnerships,  first-class terms and conditions and qualified multilingual staff, who in turn adhere to the values of the Bank: Excellence, Teamwork, Integrity, Responsibility, Accountability, Customer-driven approach. In addition to the values of the Bank, staff also adhere to a code of conduct (for more information on our code of conduct see below).
As the long-term financing body of the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank promotes EU policies through its financial and other support for sustainable investment projects. The increasing prominence given to environmental and social considerations within the EU and throughout the Bank's other regions of operation is reflected in its priority lending objectives as well as in the regular review and revision of its environmental and social requirements and operational practices.

The EIB’s prime tasks in the EU are strengthening social and economic cohesion, financing SMEs, supporting the knowledge economy, developing the trans-European networks (TENs), protecting the environment, and promoting sustainable, competitive and secure energy. Outside the EU, the EIB also supports community policy towards its neighbours and other parts of the world.

The protection and improvement of the environment is a priority objective of the Bank as outlined in the Bank’s Corporate Operational Plan (COP) 2011-2013 – and mentioned in the EIB’s Environmental Statement.

Social concerns are addressed according to national, EU and international law, good practice and codes of behaviour. Whilst they have always been taken into consideration as part of the EIB’s environmental assessment of projects, social issues are now also assessed in their own right as part of an integrated assessment. For projects mainly located outside Europe, internal guidelines are based on EU standards and principles and internationally accepted good practices and, in developing countries, related to the Millennium Development Goals. They focus in particular on:
- labour standards;
- occupational and community health and safety (including major communicable diseases);
- population movement (including involuntary resettlement issues);
- minority rights (including indigenous people, women and vulnerable groups);
- public consultation and participation;
- cultural heritage.

In large complex projects co-financed with other International Financing Institutions (IFIs), responsibility for appropriate social assessment is often shared and the Bank may utilise other co-investors’ existing social safeguard policy frameworks.