Citigroup (C)(2025) Resolution

Citigroup — Report on Animal Welfare Oversight

Animal welfare issues present material financial, operational, and reputational risks for companies that receive financing from Citigroup, and to Citigroup as their financier.

The risks of mismanaging animal welfare include business disruption or loss of goodwill associated with inhumane treatment of animals such as animal testing and conditions of habitation, but they also may include environmental impacts of factory farming and related supply chain risks, and potential liabilities associated with issues of food safety, including diseases passed from animals to humans and overuse of antibiotics in livestock.1

OpenInvest published an analysis of these issues: “A company that does not disclose or prioritize its processes or impact on animal welfare raises questions for investors on how effective that company can be in managing potential risks or opportunities down the road. It is also impossible to assess future risk without the disclosure of the right information.”2

To minimize these risks, some banks are taking animal welfare issues into account as part of their lending due diligence practices.

However, Citi’s oversight on animal welfare is miniscule, at best. Citi’s Environmental and Social Policy Framework discusses due diligence regarding financing that potentially impacts critical habitat and areas of high conservation value3, and “traceability” in beef supply chains. However, this due diligence is limited to “areas of high caution” and “sensitive ecoregions”, failing to address the welfare of animals involved.4

However, consideration for biodiversity and habitat loss in sensitive ecoregions does not equate to consideration for animal welfare.

While Citi states, “Nature and the climate are inextricably linked and it is critical that we understand this dynamic interplay,”5 the scrutiny intensifies as Citi is recently identified as one of the top 3 financiers of factory farming – providing approximately 18% of all loans and underwriting services to companies tied to factory farms!!6

Factory farming is associated with not only animal cruelty, but also pollution, poor working conditions, resource depletion, biodiversity loss, disease, food insecurity and poverty, and climate change.7 8 9 10

Further, “animal welfare” is absent from Citi’s reports, policies, or governance documents.

Increasingly, banks are adopting exclusionary criteria to reduce exposure to animal cruelty and associated risks. Yet Citi earns a score of “0” on Banksforanimals.org for apparent deficiencies in key areas regarding animal welfare.11

Simply because a process is not disclosed, does not necessarily indicate a lack of due diligence. However, neglecting to publicly acknowledge oversight on animal welfare risks the perception of our company’s failure of oversight on critical issues. Publicly asserting how Citigroup addresses the issue of animal welfare when considering financing decisions would not only increase transparency but enhance Citi’s overall reputation.

RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Citigroup publish a report at reasonable expense and excluding proprietary and privileged information, disclosing whether and how the Board of Directors exercises its oversight regarding material risks associated with animal welfare.

 

 

1 https://www.openinvest.com/articles-insights/support-animal-welfare
2 https://www.openinvest.com/articles-insights/support-animal-welfare
3 https://www.citigroup.com/rcs/citigpa/storage/public/Environmental-and-Social-Policy-Framework.pdf
4 https://www.citigroup.com/rcs/citigpa/storage/public/Global-ESG-Report-2022.pdf
5 https://www.citigroup.com/rcs/citigpa/storage/public/2023-Citi-Climate-Report.pdf
6 https://www.americanbanker.com/news/activists-to-jpmorgan-chase-bofa-citi-stop-lending-to-factory-farms
7 https://www.colorado.edu/ecenter/2022/03/15/it-may-be-uncomfortable-we-need-talk-about-it-animal-agriculture-industry-and-zero-waste#:~:text=Raising%20livestock%20for%20human%20consumption,biodiversity%20loss%20and%20water%20pollution.
8 https://www.ciwf.org.uk/factory-farming/
9 https://www.aspca.org/protecting-farm-animals/problem-factory-farming
10 https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2024/10/09/factory-farms-rural-america/#:~:text=Factory%20farms%20tend%20to%20make,population%20from%201982%20to%202017.
11 https://banksforanimals.org/institutions/citigroup/

 

 

Details…

 

HII was pleased with the support gleaned from Citigroup shareholders in 2024. The proposal captured a modest 7.7%, but it afforded us to continue our pursuit towards greater accountability and disclosure from the bank. We resubmitted our proposal for 2025, which requests that Citigroup publish a report disclosing whether and how the Board of Directors exercises oversight regarding material risks associated with animal welfare.

 

We engaged with staff at Citi who did not feel that the company needs further additions to their polices or procedures to address the material risks to the company related to animal welfare. Our resolution appears in Citigroup’s 2025 proxy materials.