Since the early 2000s, most DFIs have adopted safeguard policies to ensure that the activity they finance does not cause social and environmental harm.  In the wake of a number of labor rights and environmental crises on its projects, the International Finance Corporation adopted the IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability in 2006, and since then, many DFIs have followed suit.

While DFIs’ commitments to labor rights have deepened, most safeguards fall short of what international labor law requires, and some DFIs lack the labor rights expertise and infrastructure needed to realize their commitments, undermining the development impact of their investments.