UNDP's revised Social and Environmental Standards (SES) came into effect on 1 January 2021. 

This toolkit underpins UNDP’s commitment to mainstream social and environmental sustainability in Programmes and Projects to support sustainable development. The SES objectives are to:

• Strengthen the quality of programming by ensuring a principled approach
• Maximize social and environmental opportunities and benefits
• Avoid adverse impacts to people and the environment
• Minimize, mitigate, and manage adverse impacts where avoidance is not possible
• Strengthen UNDP and partner capacities for managing social and environmental risks
• Ensure full and effective stakeholder engagement, including through a mechanism to respond to complaints from project-affected people.

The standards are underpinned by an Accountability Mechanism with two key components: (i) A Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) and (ii) A Compliance Review.

In April 2024, UNDP Zambia established a Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) for receiving and addressing grievances jointly in a systematic and Transparent manner. The mechanism is a channel for project-affected stakeholders (individuals, peoples, and communities) and UNDP’s partners (governments, NGOs, businesses) to report grievances and disputes relating to social and/or environmental impacts of UNDP’s projects.

If you are an individual stakeholder in a specific project being implemented by UNDP Zambia, or if you represent a community of stakeholders, please direct your feedback, inquiries, or concerns on the project to ses.zm@undp.org, or Call +260 77 934 4612 or come visit our SES Focal Person at United Nations House, Alick Nkhata Road, Longacres, Lusaka.