PRI Environmental and Social Guidelines
ANNEX A Examples of Good Practices in Community Investment Programs Following are examples that exemplify community investment and social responsibility programs. They are presented to illustrate the broad range of social, environmental and economic issues that may be addressed for the benefit of communities and their residents. The examples are divided into two groups: the first are programs developed by IDB Private Sector Department project companies, and the second are other programs that are presented as examples that could provide inspiration to IDB projects wishing to develop their own programs.
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IDB Private Sector Department Examples of Good Practices
The following examples describe some of the community investment projects that IDB Private Sector project sponsors have implemented with the objective of producing positive environmental and/or social benefits. These case studies below were collected as part of a survey completed in 2003 of the IDB Private Sector Department’ borrower’s community investment programs. Thus the examples only reflect programs implemented prior to 2004.
Geoenergía de Guanacaste, Costa Rica: Donations to Local Schools and Training Local Workers Community Investment Program The principle activity of Geoenergía de Guanacaste´s (GdG) community investment program is to provide donations to local schools and community organizations. The company submitted a list of approximately 95 donations made since 2000 to various local schools and community groups. Donations include school sports uniforms, school supplies, and school infrastructure materials. For example, the company provided the construction materials needed to rebuild the local kindergarten in Bagaces and contributed funding to the Guayabo school board to help pay for the construction of the school gymnasium roof. They also provided the uniforms needed for the adolescent soccer team from Fortuna de Bagaces to participate in the regional soccer championship. In addition, GdG hosts tours for university groups and school age children to showcase their clean, well-kept facility and highlight the importance of clean energy. Background In 1998 the Inter-American Development Bank approved the financing of a 27 megawatt geothermal plant, the first private sector energy project in Costa Rica to be built on the basis of a contract awarded through competitive bidding. The project was also the first in the country under the terms of a 1995 law designed to encourage private investment in the energy sector. The project company is Geoenergía de Guanacaste (GdG). At the time the IDB approved the project, the main project sponsors were Oxbow Power and Marubeni Corporation. Oxbow Power Corporation has since sold their interest in the facility to Marubeni. The power plant sells its entire electricity output to the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) under a 15-year power purchase agreement, after which the ICE will become owner of the plant. The plant is located in a geothermal field in the province of Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. For additional information on the project see http://www.iadb.org/pri/projectSummary.cfm?ProjectNumber=CR0115. Corporate Culture and Management Support The primary project sponsor, Marubeni, is a Japanese company that is involved in community investment programs (CIPs) in many of its projects. The company has noted that the programs receive strong executive management support and that the decision to support local schools is an easy one that everyone can get behind.
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