Standard Chartered opposes animal testing as it tightens environmental policies
Standard Chartered will no longer finance clients who test cosmetic products on animals, it said today as it announced a raft of tightened environmental and social policies.
The emerging markets-focused bank will also avoid financing plantation or livestock ranches that degrade High Carbon Stock forests, peatlands or legally protected areas, or operations that grow, process or trade soy from the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado.
Asbestos mines and mines that conduct Appalachian mountaintop removal will also be banned from receiving support from the bank when the policy changes in March next year.
The move is part of the bank’s goal to increase funding for sustainable financing and hit its target of facilitating $4bn (£3.12bn) towards clean technology by 2020.
Last month major financial institutions also signed an agreement to stand against the illegal wildlife trade.
Standard Chartered, Barclays and HSBC were among those to agree to the Financial Taskforce Declaration stating they would "not knowingly facilitate or tolerate financial flows that are derived from IWT and associated corruption."