In May 2026, Humane World for Animals submitted a series of recommendations to the IFC related to animal welfare and food-system risks. At present, IFC primarily addresses animals as “living natural resources,” without explicitly recognizing animal welfare as a distinct social risk or recognizing animals as sentient beings, and therefore, stakeholders. As a result, IFC continues to finance systems—including extreme confinement and highly intensive animal production models—that are increasingly misaligned with scientific consensus, regulatory trajectories, investor expectations, and market trends. This creates exposure to regulatory, operational, reputational, and stranded asset risks, while locking emerging markets into production systems that are being phased out elsewhere.
The Sustainability Framework update presents IFC with a strategic opportunity to modernize its approach, strengthen risk management, and reinforce its leadership role among development finance institutions. By explicitly integrating animal welfare into the Performance Standards, clarifying Good International Industry Practice, and establishing enforceable exclusions, minimum standards, and transition pathways, IFC can improve consistency, predictability, and credibility across its portfolio. Complementary portfolio-level
measures and targeted use of IFC’s financial instruments can further support transition toward lower-risk, more resilient food systems.
Key recommendations
This submission has four key recommendation categories:
1. Improve IFC’s approach to animal welfare (Section 4)
• Recommendation 1: Integrate animal welfare as a distinct E&S risk across relevant Performance Standards
• Recommendation 2: Establish welfare-based exclusions for inherently harmful systems
• Recommendation 3: Establish minimum welfare standards for eligible operations that are binding in
the Performance Standards
• Recommendation 4: Require time-bound transition plans through ESAPs
• Recommendation 5: Clarify and update Good International Industry Practice (GIIP) for animal welfare
• Recommendation 6: Strengthen and align the Good Practice Note on Animal Welfare
• Recommendation 7: Support completion and integration of existing global technical guidance
2. Reduce exposure to industrial animal agriculture risk (Section 5)
• Recommendation 8: Manage portfolio-level exposure to animal agriculture
3. Catalyze food system transformation through financing (Section 6)
• Recommendation 9: Provide preferential and transition financing for higher‑welfare systems
• Recommendation 10: Offer preferential and transition financing for plant-forward and diversified food systems
4. Strengthen transparency and disclosure (Section 7)
• Recommendation 11: Strengthen standardized disclosure for animal‑related investments