Boston, January 16, 2026 – Bank of America, the second-largest bank in the United States, has released new forest protection standards it expects its clients around the world to meet. In response, Green Century and co-filer PFA Pension withdrew a related shareholder proposal for the company’s 2026 annual meeting.
“We cannot achieve global climate goals without ending deforestation in this decade. To do that, banks must meaningfully mitigate risks related to forests and biodiversity,” said Leslie Samuelrich, president of Green Century. “We applaud Bank of America’s moves to address these risks.”
Bank of America addresses deforestation for soy, beef, palm oil and wood products
Following two years of dialogue with Green Century on deforestation risks and a related shareholder proposal, co-filed by Denmark’s largest pension company PFA Pension, Bank of America has disclosed new standards for “areas of heightened sensitivity” including cattle, soy, palm oil and forestry. For these high-risk sectors, Bank of America now publicly states that clients must have or be pursuing deforestation-free operations and supply chains. Beef, soy, palm oil and forestry are responsible for nearly 75% of global deforestation.
“To effectively reduce nature and climate-related risks, banks need to focus on industries and companies linked to deforestation,” said Annie Sanders, Green Century’s director of shareholder advocacy. “With these new standards, Bank of America is taking important steps toward reducing its climate impact and protecting habitats for jaguars, tigers and other wildlife.”
Bank of America follows JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley
This move by Bank of America follows a landmark agreement secured by Green Century in 2021 with JPMorgan Chase, after which the bank became the first in the U.S. to require palm oil clients to adopt “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) policies. Bank of America’s new standards also follow similar policies from Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, announced after engagement with Green Century, that strengthened financing standards for clients in forest-risk commodities.
“Deforestation is a material financial risk for us as a long-term investor due to its climate, regulatory, and supply‑chain impacts” said Rasmus Bessing, MD, ESG Investments & Co-CIO at PFA. “We are encouraged to see Bank of America adopt more robust expectations for clients linked to high‑risk commodities and areas.”
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, agriculture, forestry and other land use change is responsible for 23% of total climate emissions, nearly half of which are attributable to deforestation.