Environmental and Social Safeguard Standards Policy (ESSP)

The ESSP defines the principles and mandatory requirements for identifying, assessing, treating and monitoring environmental and social risks and impacts in WMO projects. The implementation of the policy ensures that adverse social and environmental risks and impacts are avoided, minimized, mitigated and managed across all WMO projects. The ESSP underpins WMO’s commitment to mainstream environmental and social sustainability in Projects.  

Red Cross workers in red vests walk toward a house with stone and brick walls; one person carries a child and another man stands by the door.

The objectives of the policy are to:

  1. Support the identification, preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of  WMO projects that comply with sound environmental and social practices.
  2. Assess the potential environmental and social risks and impacts that projects may generate on people, communities and environment.  
  3. Identify measures, specific for each project, to avoid, minimize and mitigate environmental and social impacts, and ensure the implementation of such measures.
  4. Promote transparency, predictability and accountability in environmental and social impact classification, assessment, and management across all WMO projects.
  5. Promote due-diligence and cooperation with financing and implementing partners in environmental and social protection.

The ESSP is an integral component of WMO’s quality assurance and risk management approach project implementation.

Please find here the WMO Environmental and Social Safeguard Standards Policy (ESSP) (PDF, 271 KB).

Get involved

Stakeholders are informed about available grievance redress mechanisms as part of the stakeholder engagement process. All stakeholders who may be adversely affected by a WMO project may communicate their complaints about the ESS performance of the project/activity through various entry points.

For further information, please visit: Internal Oversight Office