Eco-efficiency can contribute to profitability. These projects involve financing provided to or administered by financial intermediaries that invest IFC funds in subprojects. IFC verifies that the financial intermediaries have the capability and commitment to carry out environmental reviews. Consultation and Disclosure of Environmental Information. Category A projects must consult with affected local groups and interested parties during the preparation of the environmental assessment, which is subsequently released to the public.
Consultation is carried out in a culturally and socially acceptable way.
Local laws and regulations affect the forum used for the consultation process as well as the method of notifying local groups of the availability of environmental information. Notification methods have included newspaper announcements, public hearings and direct contact with local community leaders. Consultation techniques include official review committees established by local regulatory requirements, social acceptance surveys and meetings with village elders. The latter are particularly common in areas where local communities are primarily illiterate. In the Philippines, social acceptance surveys in the affected community are mandatory during preparation of the environmental impact statement, and they are the basis for public hearings on major projects such as the Sual Thermal Power Plant.