Arjun Bhalla: Pathways to a Clean, Green, and More Equitable World

Arjun Bhalla is an IFC senior operations officer and the program lead for IFC Infrastructure’s Corporate Climate Advisory service. Here, Arjun describes his shift from a career in international criminal law to sustainable infrastructure. Plus, he reveals a fun fact about himself!?

Let’s start with some basics. Where are you from? And where are you based now??

I was born in Delhi, India, but I left with my parents and my older sister when I was very young. We relocated first to London and then Toronto, where I grew up. I did my undergraduate studies at Queen’s University in Canada and went on to study international law at the University of Kent in England. Now I live in Washington, DC with my wife and two children.??

How did your background shape your career path??

I was 10 when we moved from India to Canada. Raised Sikh, I wore a turban to school every day and was teased a lot. All I wanted to do was fit in, like so many other immigrants and political refugees that came to Canada. When we would visit India, people assumed we were wealthy (which we weren’t) because we lived in North America. These experiences shaped me and led me to want to find a way to close the gaps between the have and have nots, to reduce the “otherness” so many people face.?

As a young idealist in law school, I decided to focus on international criminal law. After graduating, I worked first at Human Rights Watch and then Canada’s Foreign Office before landing what I thought was my dream job—as an investigator at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands. I worked on war crimes prosecutions, investigating human rights violations in Africa.??

It sounds like you embarked on an impactful career focused on human rights. Why the pivot to IFC and international development??

As I worked on these war crimes cases, it became clear that many conflicts stem from severe development challenges, like lack of access to water, food, and job opportunities. So, I became more interested in how to head off conflicts before they start. That’s why I joined IFC. My first projects were about working with large companies on local economic development in the energy, forestry and agribusiness sectors in Nepal, Peru, Ghana, India, Indonesia, and Laos. I then worked in Mongolia’s South Gobi Desert to address tensions between mining companies and local herding communities over the availability of water. We worked to improve community relations and pioneered a landmark agreement with 14 mining companies on how to share and conserve water with communities. ?

What are you doing now???

I lead the Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory’s climate advisory program, which provides support for our clients so they can deliver on ambitious climate goals on mitigation and adaptation. We noticed that so many companies are setting ambitious climate goals but lack specific plans on how to accomplish them. In our Climate Advisory work we have built a business model around our climate solutions: designing tailored decarbonization pathways, developing climate risk and resilience roadmaps, and assisting with just transition plans. It’s a client-focused approach aimed at raising companies’ climate ambitions, helping them deliver on robust climate commitments, and showing them how they can contribute to communities in meaningful ways that also bring them value. Basically, our job is to make real the pledges that companies have made. It’s very satisfying work.???

What are some examples of IFC’s work with infrastructure clients in the climate space???

We work at both the sector level and directly with clients through investment and advisory. At the sector level, we developed the Net Zero Roadmap for Copper and Nickel Value Chains , a science-based? guide to help mining companies decarbonize their operations. We also just launched a new guidance note, “Building Climate Resilience in the Mining Sector .” On investment, we are pioneering using? sustainable finance to support our clients’ decarbonization and social goals. One recent investment, led by colleagues in the energy team, is a €300 million green and sustainability-linked bond with Iberdrola, which will help the global utility double its renewable energy capacity and incentivize emissions reduction. We also act as strategic advisors for clients.??

We are working with the Panama Canal, which is investing $8.5 billion in sustainability over the coming decade. Plans call for boosting operational resilience as well as strengthening local communities so they can better withstand the impacts of climate change. If you want to learn more about our work, please reach out!

What do you like about working at IFC??

I love what I do. Climate is such a cutting-edge space, where we are literally building the world that the next generation will inherit. Our work is crucial for the economies of developing countries, for the local communities, and for a livable planet. To address these challenges, I’ve gotten to build a team that started with a focus on one sector—natural resources —and is now expanding across all industries where IFC has a presence.??

I am impressed every day by the dedication and wit of the people I work with. This work takes a combination of wild imagination and belief that new things are possible, and the detail and technical skills to realize results.??

What’s something people would be surprised to know about you??

A couple of years ago, I was a ball boy at the Mubadala Citi DC Open , a major tennis tournament on the professional circuit.? I brought my daughter to the ball boy and ball girl tryouts, but we were told she was too young. Since we were already at the tennis court, I asked if there was an upper-end age limit and if not, what about me? They said no one had ever asked that question before, so they let me try out. And I was selected! It was fun and exhausting—maybe they should have had an age cut-off!?

Favorite book??

Meditations , by Marcus Aurelius. I also listen to lots of podcasts.