Project lending is a type of financing where the loan is repaid by the revenue generated by the project and the project itself is also the security (Equator Principles 2006). Project lending is the primary way projects are financed and commercial banks (Valentine et al 2003; Ganzi et al 1998). The launch of Equator Principles in 2003 has been hailed as an opportunity to ensure that environmental and social impacts of projects are considered in banks’ lending decisions (Lazarus 2005; Yeomans 2005; Monahan 2005). Signatories of this voluntary initiative commit to only financing projects, with a capital cost of at least $US 10 million, that demonstrate that the environmental and social impacts of the projects are managed effectively. Currently 68 banks have signed the initiative (Equator Principles 2010).