A new campaign backed by environmentalist Dr Jane Goodall and musician Peter Gabriel is calling on pension funds to take measures to reduce their exposure to deforestation.
An advert, Saving Jane, which features a re-recording of Peter Gabriel’s 80s hit Red Rain, was developed by Rewriting Earth on behalf of Make My Money Matter, Global Canopy and Global Witness.
It features a main character, Jane, who plans to use her pension pot to visit a tropical rainforest in retirement – only to later discover that the very money she has worked hard to save has been financing companies linked to deforestation.
The advert, developed by Paul Goodenough and Jeanette Nørgaard and produced by Strange Beast – the studio behind 2019’s award-winning There’s a Rang-Tang in my Bedroom – can be viewed below.
Saving Jane from Make My Money Matter on Vimeo.
“I urge all pension providers out there to remove completely any projects involving deforestation from their portfolios and instead invest in projects that help to protect and restore the beautiful places of our planet for future generations,” commented Dr. Jane Goodall DBE.
Recent research undertaken by Make My Money Matter, Global Canopy and SYSTEMIQ found that £300 billion of UK pension investments is linked to companies engaged in deforestation, while just 14% of the UK public is aware that their pension could be funding deforestation.
It also found that while more than half of UK individuals believe that the government should introduce a law requiring all pensions to be deforestation-free – as well as a requirement for pension funds to publish policies on tackling deforestation – some two thirds of the UK’s top 20 workplace pension providers don’t have a public deforestation policy.
Separate data from Global Canopy indicates that 75% of financial institutions assessed still do not have a public deforestation policy in place.
“Pensions exist to serve us, so let those who manage them know what we want and expect in no uncertain terms,” Peter Gabriel added. “I want my great-grandchildren to see and learn from orangutangs and all the other animals and plants that we have nearly wiped out. Don’t let your hard-earned money be used for deforestation and destruction. Speak out.”
