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Green Century Calls for Continuation of Amazon Soy Moratorium

Press Release Contact: Kyle W. Kempf, Green Century Capital Management, kkempf@greencentury.com, (617) 482-0800

Boston, December 3, 2019 – Green Century is calling for the continuation of the Amazon Soy Moratorium, which is under attack by agricultural producers in Brazil just as fires and deforestation push the Amazon to an irreversible tipping point.

“The Amazon Soy Moratorium has been instrumental in protecting one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems from unsustainable soy production,” said Jessye Waxman, shareholder advocate at Green Century Capital Management. “A continuation of the Moratorium sends a clear signal to producers in the region that there is no market for unsustainable soy.”

In 2006, the Amazon Soy Moratorium, which sought to ensure that any soy produced in the Amazon did not occur on land deforested after 2008, was established by a consortium of stakeholders representing industry, civil society, and the government. The voluntary agreement provides protections beyond the law, which currently allows farmers in the Amazon to legally clear up to 20% of their land.

Moratorium signatories agree not to buy soy from companies that work with farmers who have cleared forest land, used slave labor, or threatened Indigenous Lands since 2008.

The Moratorium has been a monumental success, significantly reducing deforestation in the Amazon – at least until recent months. Critically, this reduction has not come at the cost of economic development. Soy production in the Amazon has increased 400% since the Moratorium was instituted, demonstrating that economic development and environmental protection can coexist.

In 2016, signatories renewed the agreement indefinitely. More recently, as global concern for the Amazon flared over the summer, key grain traders in the region cited their continued support for the industry-wide agreement.

Despite this success, the Moratorium is under attack by agricultural producers in Brazil, who want a market for soy grown on newly razed tropical forests.

To thwart this effort to undermine an important environmental protection, Green Century and other stakeholders are calling for a continuation of the Moratorium in a new open letter. Green Century was the first investor in the U.S. to sign the letter and has urged the corporations that it engages that source soy from Brazil to sign on, too.

Green Century is one of the leading global investors in the effort to end tropical forest destruction, which is the second largest driver of the climate crisis.

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About Green Century Capital Management

Green Century Capital Management is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds. The Green Century Funds are the first family of fossil fuel free, responsible, and diversified mutual funds in the United States. Green Century Capital Management hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.

You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please click here, email info@greencentury.com, or call 1-800-934-7336. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.

This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 235 W Galena Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212. 12/19

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