Environmental and human rights organisations have initiated a grievance with a UK governmental mediation entity against Standard Chartered concerning its involvement in financing four coal-fired power stations in the Philippines, as reported to Reuters by the groups on Thursday.
Complaint Names Standard Chartered Over Funding a Coal Plant
The complaint, brought forward by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Inclusive Development International (IDI), Recourse, and BankTrack, alleges that Standard Chartered’s financial activities have infringed upon the rights of the local populations.
They urge the bank to compensate those impacted and enhance its governance policies related to such matters. The communities in question have reportedly endured involuntary relocations, disruptions to their ways of earning a living, health issues due to air and water pollution, and experiences of intimidation and violence.
The organisations argue that these adverse effects could have been mitigated had the bank conducted more thorough due diligence before providing financial support. The case has been presented to the UK’s National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct (NCP), an agency tasked with examining violations of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
These guidelines serve as a benchmark for ethical business operations across the globe. At the time of contact, Standard Chartered did not offer any remarks regarding the issue, and the NCP had yet to respond to inquiries for comment.
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Although the NCP lacks the authority to mandate Standard Chartered to take corrective actions or issue compensations, the UK’s export credit agency has indicated that it will consider the NCP’s conclusions when evaluating future support for companies and banks involved in financing projects.
Globally, 51 nations have established an NCP. Notably, in Australia, ANZ Bank agreed to compensate Cambodian communities displaced by a sugar enterprise it financed after undergoing a comparable review process.
David Pred, Executive Director of IDI, stated: “Standard Chartered was, or should have been aware of, the detrimental environmental impacts and the significant harm to local communities that would result from these coal plants. Despite this, they proceeded with the financing and disregarded our repeated pleas for involvement in remediation efforts.”
