Citi has had a public commitment to respect human rights across its value chain since it first issued a Statement on Human Rights in 2007, which we updated most recently in 2018. As noted in our Environmental and Social Policy Framework, deforestation risk is addressed through our forestry sector and palm oil sector standards, as well as through our Area of High Caution triggering escalated due diligence for projects built in close proximity to areas of critical habitat, high conservation value and high biodiversity. We only proceed with project transactions if our due diligence indicates that all potential risks will be adequately addressed.

In addition, Citi has initiated reviews of additional sectors to assess the alignment of our clients’ policies and practices for managing sector-specific risks with industry best practice and international norms. At the start of 2019, we initiated a review of our clients in the soy and beef sectors to evaluate their efforts at monitoring deforestation in their operations and supply chain.