Environmental activists are calling on Canada’s banks to do more to protect the world’s forests.

ForestEthics and Rainforest Action Network have sent letters to the chief executives of the Big Five banks asking them to cooperate with the environmental community and independent scientists to develop permanent policies that protect endangered forests, prevent climate change and promote human rights.

In the August 25 letter, ForestEthics executive director Todd Paglia and Rainforest Action Network executive director Michael Brune asked Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Royal Bank, Scotiabank and TD Bank to move quickly to phase out funding of industrial extraction from intact forests and endangered ecosystems; set greenhouse gas reduction targets and timelines for direct and indirect emissions; support the right of indigenous First Nations and local communities to free and informed prior consent of bank-financed projects on their lands; require independent chain-of-custody certification for forest products financing to prevent illegal logging and corporate corruption; prioritize funding for sustainable forestry certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and clean energy sources such as wind and solar; implement internal paper procurement policies that maximize post-consumer recycled content and FSC-certified virgin fiber; and eliminate procurement of products from endangered forests and controversial suppliers.

The groups say the invitation follows similar ongoing collaborations between Rainforest Action Network and Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase that have resulted in new best practices on the environment in critical areas including endangered forest protection, sustainable forestry, illegal logging, ecological no-go zones, carbon mitigation and reduction, renewable energy and indigenous rights.

“Some of the largest financial institutions in the world like Citibank and JP Morgan Chase have already made commitments to mitigate their impacts on what is left of the Earth’s wild places like the Canadian Boreal,” commented Tzeporah Berman, program director for ForestEthics. “It’s time for Canadian banks to show some leadership by putting progressive policies in place and refusing to support short sighted development that threatens our remaining old growth forests.”

“Now more than ever, the very real impact of global warming and deforestation is being felt around the world,” said Ilyse Hogue, director of The Global Finance Campaign at Rainforest Action Network. “The global marketplace is being forced to factor in the enormous risks associated with the interruption of vital services offered by Earth’s few remaining intact forest ecosystems like the North American Boreal. The Boreal freely provides humanity with fresh air and pure water, serves as a critical habitat during this time of unprecedented extinction, and stabilizes our increasingly fragile climate. It is time for Canada’s financial community to internalize all of the social and environmental risks associated with controversial investments like the MacKenzie Valley pipeline and Weyerhaeuser/Trout Lake clear-cuts and follow industry leaders such as Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase in setting a sustainable trajectory for the Canadian financial sector.”