UNDP's Social and Environmental Standards (SES) underpin our commitment to mainstream social and environmental sustainability in our Programmes and Projects. UNDP programming aims to maximize social and environmental opportunities and benefits while avoiding, minimizing, mitigating, and managing adverse risks and impacts.  

The SES policy came into effect on 1 January 2015 and was updated in 2021 under UNDP’s Programming and Operations Policies and Procedures. This includes our Social and Environmental Screening Procedure. 

The objectives of the Social and Environmental Standards are to strengthen programming quality through a principled approach, maximize social and environmental benefits, avoid and mitigate adverse impacts, strengthen UNDP partner capacities for managing risks, and ensure full and effective stakeholder engagement.

The figure below summarizes the key principles, project-level standards, procedures, and accountability mechanisms that underpin the SES.

The UNDP Accountability Mechanism has two key components. The Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) helps project-affected stakeholders, UNDP’s partners and others jointly address grievances or disputes related to the social and/or environmental impacts of UNDP-supported projects. The Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU) investigates alleged or potential violations of UNDP’s social and environmental commitments, including the SES, in the context of specific UNDP programmes or projects. It also evaluates whether UNDP has complied with its obligations, whether any non-compliance has caused harm to the complainant, and how UNDP can correct the non-compliance.  

Through application of the SES and Accountability Mechanism, UNDP enhances the consistency, transparency, and accountability of its decision-making and actions, improves performance, and strengthens achievement of positive development outcomes. 

To learn more about SECU and SRM, visit the UNDP Accountability Mechanism website:

Official SES policy, downloadable in English, French, and Spanish.

Browse key guidance and supporting resources for implementing the Social and Environmental Standards policy. For UNDP personnel, additional resources are available in the internal SES Toolkit.