AFD - Universal Registration Document 2020

STATEMENT OF NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 2 Transparency and dialogue with stakeholders

public policy dialogue and public policy loans, by proposing diagnostic and training tools to agencies - this work will notably feed studies on inequalities steered by the Agency’s research department. On the other, the Group aims to encourage its operational teams to take into account the themes of “co- construction” and “living together”, for example by drafting dedicated methodological guides. In 2020 AFD continued its action in favour of gender equality. Thus, in 2020, 67% of AFD projects presented a CAD 1 (specific objective) and CAD 2 (main objective) co-benefit for gender equality, thus exceeding the initial objective of 40% by 2020. €372M has been allocated to CAD 2 Ǿ projects, based on a target of €370M. AFD’s activity in the cultural and creative industries increased in 2020 with the granting of 17 loans (compared to 8 in 2019) and €74.7M in committed amounts. In 2020, activity mainly focused on the African continent and in priority countries, and amounted to 66.5% in grants. AFD has been active in African heritage issues in Benin and Ethiopia, where the Agency has been asked to finance the rehabilitation of heritage sites or the construction of museums. In the field of Sport & Development, AFD’s activity also increased in 2020 with the granting of 7 loans and a commitment of €7.5M. The activity, based in Africa, mainly takes the form of multi- country competitions and is divided into five main areas: school sport and support for the education sector, the emancipation of girls and women through sport, the strengthening of governance and strategy, the strengthening of local infrastructures, and their management, and finally the strengthening of the sports and associative fabric. At the same time, AFD continued its efforts to support the technical divisions and agencies in the identification of new “sport and development” and “creative and cultural industries” projects through a series of webinars offered in early 2021, rolled out depending on the regions, and specific tools.

In addition, the AFD Group considers responsible purchasing to be one of the three major pillars of its new purchasing policy. Thus, it anticipated the law on the fight against waste and the circular economy by eliminating plastic cups and bottles at the head office in 2019. The extension of this approach to the network is continuing, with theTbilisi agency having implemented similar measures. The 100% recycled paper intended for use by employees (with the exception of the reprography department) is collected by a recycling channel at the Paris sites. With respect to issues relating to biodiversity, AFD is also committed to minimising the impact of its direct footprint wherever it is present. For example, for corporate catering at the head office, 50% of produce used originates from organic agriculture. Efforts are also being made in this area within the network. Lastly, AFD has been offsetting the Group’s residual emissions by following a carbon neutrality pathway since 2009. In 2020, AFD supported two projects, biogas in Sichuan (China) and improved cooking stoves in Uganda, both Gold Standard certified and both of which have significant environmental and social co-benefits. 2.4.4 Impacts related to the Group’s activity in reinforcing social relations The AFD Group achieved an important milestone in 2020 with the finalisation of its “100% Social Link” strategy and the associated action plan. This strategy was approved by AFD’s Executive Committee on 29 Ǿ September 2020. It was subsequently presented to the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, and also to French civil society organisations. Its approval is on the agenda of the AFD’s Board of Directors in March Ǿ 2021. Through the roll-out of this strategy, the AFD Group aims, on the one hand, to reinforce the consideration of inequalities in

2.5 Transparency and dialogue with stakeholders

2.5.1 Transparency of funds granted Transparency of funding is a strong corporate and social responsibility challenge for AFD Group. Transparency of AFD’s activities must be guaranteed in compliance with the regulatory requirements associated with its legal status (business secrecy) and protection personal data and individual and public freedoms guaranteed by the French data protection laws. Through its policy of transparency and dialogue (1) , the AFD Group strives to comply with the best practices observed by other sponsors and with international standards, including the standard of the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), whilst taking on Board the expectations of its stakeholders.

This policy aims to contribute to the effectiveness of the aid and to ensure accountability of the AFD Group’s actions, in particular through the transparency of all funding granted, and to help legitimise France’s Official Development Assistance policy. It is based on five principles: usefulness, openness, the protection of trust and sensitive information, attentive listening, and dialogue. Internally, AFD has a legal notice and a procedure for the disclosure of information to provide a framework for implementing transparency and ensuring compliance with the rules applying to confidential information and business secrecy. The information disclosure requests may concern information reported on AFD’s website, AFD’s open data platform, and the IATI registry, or other information on the AFD Group, its strategy, financing transactions and intellectual productions.

(1) The scope of this policy concerns AFD and its subsidiary Proparco, and provides for specific adaptations for AFD and Proparco. It is available on the AFD website: https://www.afd.fr/fr/politique-de-transparence-et-de-dialogue-du-groupe-afd

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2020 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT