New York – American financial service company, Morgan Stanley has devoted itself to amplifying its deforestation guidelines for customers in several farming and land-use sectors, according to the surroundings and social-focused investor Green Century Funds, who had filed a proposition for the economic services firm’s 2023 AGM.
Green Century said that it cancelled its proposal because of the loyalty from Morgan Stanley.
Annie Sanders, Green Century Funds’ director of shareholder advocacy, said, “To reach their climate decline goals, banks will need to concentrate on companies that drive deforestation. With these new responsibilities, Morgan Stanley is taking necessary steps toward fulfilling its net-zero promises.”
A current announcement released by the UN-backed Race to Zero found that deforestation characterized by companies with land-based value chains, particularly in the forest, land, and agribusiness sectors, is accountable for a substantial ratio of international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The sectors donate 22% of global emissions, half of which are caused by deforestation. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an estimated 420 million hectares of forest, designating a region bigger than the EU, were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020. Key products responsible for the majority of global deforestation include beef, soy, palm oil, and wood products.
According to Green Century, Morgan Stanley agreed to improve its existing criteria for palm oil and forestry consumers to mirror best practices and to construct unique documented benchmarks for soy and beef buyers working in parts with high deforestation threats.
The company will embrace leading “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) guidelines. For timber shoppers in increased protection value forests, Morgan Stanley will need a best-practice Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) credential or a time-bound objective to accomplish it. The firm will also demand an improved assessment of beef customers’ no-deforestation procedures and techniques in high-risk areas.
