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At OeEB, we strive to uphold environmental, social and human rights standards in all our business activities. Yet, we are aware that there are challenging country and sector contexts and complex business structures that bear a risk for adverse impacts. 

Our grievance mechanism aims to address these impacts and provide our stakeholders with a fair and transparent process for raising concerns. We welcome constructive, respectful, and open dialogue and take complaints seriously. We believe that they are key for taking targeted actions to address problems early on and prevent further hardship. 

Our grievance mechanism is open to environmental, social and human rights concerns related to our or our Portfolio Companies' conduct. The mechanism offers a dispute resolution process which is conceived as a collaborative problem-solving process undertaken in good faith and on a voluntary basis by all parties. The overall aim is to elaborate mutually agreeable solutions based on negotiation or mediation. The process is either facilitated by OeEB's Grievance Office or an independent external mediator. 

Learn more about the procedure OeEB follows in addressing complaints in our Grievance Mechanism Policy. 

The following chart gives an overview of OeEB's Grievance Mechanism process. 

All complaints can be lodged by email, web form or letter in English or German. They should include the following information:

  • The name or description of the specific project or company, which was allegedly involved in the impacts
  • A description of the harm suffered or the harm that is likely to be suffered (this may include documentation photos, videos, etc.)
  • A description of the steps already taken to address the concerns, if any (e.g. concerns raised through the Portfolio Company’s grievance mechanism, other development finance institutions’ mechanisms, other non-judicial mechanisms, legal steps, complaints raised against government conduct)
  • Name and contact information of the Complainant(s) (address, telephone number, email)
  • If the complaint is submitted by a representative, evidence of the representative’s authority to represent the Complainant(s)
  • A request for confidentiality if the Complainant(s) or their representative do not want to be publicly identified or identified to the Portfolio Company 
  • An indication of the desired outcome (e.g. change of behavior, adherence to environmental, social and human rights standards, remediation)

Via internet

You may submit the complaint by means of our online form (available shortly).

By email

Please send your complaint to the following email address: feedback@oe-eb.at 

By post

Please send your complaint to the following address:

Development Bank of Austria (Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG)
Unit Strategy, Impact, Sustainability
Strauchgasse 3
1010 Wien
Austria

This overview provides details of the complaints that have been declared admissible since the implementation of the Mechanism.

Date Project/Client Country Sector Complaint Complainant Status
As of today, no complaints have been filed.