More than 40 investors with around $6.4 trillion of assets under management have called on companies sourcing beef and related cattle products to mitigate and eliminate deforestation from their supply chains in a joint statement. The statement, issued in California, highlights how beef production has been responsible for 65 percent of gross tropical deforestation between 2001 and 2009 and is one of the fastest-growing contributors to global greenhouse gases. It points to the knock on financial risks posed by deforestation to food and agribusiness companies and their investors and calls on them to: boost awareness and governance of these risks; publicly-disclose commodity specific deforestation policy covering their entire supply chains; ensure traceability across cattle supply chains; develop monitoring and verification processes to ensure supplier compliance. The 44 investors signing the statement include global financial giants such as Aberdeen Standard Investments, Aegon Asset Management, HSBC Global AM, and BNP Paribas AM.

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