TORONTO, March 14,
2024 /CNW/ - Today, TD Bank Group (TD or the Bank)
provided updates on its sustainability strategy and continuing
efforts to help its customers, communities and colleagues thrive in
a changing world.
"In the last year, people have felt the stress of higher costs
of living, alongside the growing effects of climate change," said
Janice Farrell Jones, SVP of
Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship. "As a financial
institution and corporate citizen, TD has a role to play in
supporting our customers and communities through these times while
contributing to efforts to build a more sustainable and inclusive
future. The updates shared in our Sustainability Reporting Suite
highlight the ways we're taking action to help drive sustainable
value creation for our customers and our communities."
As part of its commitment to helping customers and communities
thrive, TD made continued progress under its Climate Action Plan,
which serves as the Bank's Transition Plan. TD has expanded and
enhanced the calculation of its Scope 3 financed emissions
footprint, and enhanced tools for monitoring financed emissions and
progress toward targets. In addition, TD shared an update on
progress toward its Sustainable & Decarbonization Finance
Target, reporting a total of $69.5
billion in eligible business activities in 2023. The Bank
also shared that it exceeded its 50% client engagement goal for two
initial sectors – energy and power generation, where efforts have
been led by TD Securities – in 2023, and disclosed a new, extended
goal of 75% for 2024.
In advancing on the Bank's sustainability goals and role as a
corporate citizen, TD continued to deepen its contributions to
financial and economic inclusion. To guide efforts and support
progress toward TD Pathways to Economic Inclusion, TD disclosed
five new targets. Under financial access, TD has set US and
Canadian small business lending targets and a North American
financial education target. Under housing access, the Bank has set
a North American affordable housing financing target and a US home
lending target. The two US targets come from the recently launched
Community Impact Plan. Through the 2023 TD Ready Challenge, TD also
awarded $10 million in grants toward
innovative solutions that address barriers to affordable
housing.
Across the board, TD's commitment to sustainability and
inclusion flows from its purpose: to enrich the lives of its
customers, communities and colleagues. Over the past 30 years, the
Bank's engagement has spanned serving as one of the founders of the
First Nations Bank of Canada to
being the first major Canadian bank to set a 2050 net-zero goal for
emissions from its operations and financing activities. The work
done by TD in 2023 continues that engagement.
Additional highlights from the 2023 Sustainability Reporting
Suite include:
- A US$500 million three-year green
bond issued in December 2023, led by
a syndicate of underwriters including minority-, women- and
veteran-owned enterprises. This is the Bank's fourth green bond
issuance
- A total contribution in 2023 of $157
million to support non-profit and community organizations,
contributing to the Bank's target of $1
billion in philanthropy by 2030
More details can be found in the 2023 Sustainability Report ,
the 2023 Climate Action Plan Report and the 2023 TD Ready
Commitment Report, which form the Bank's 2023 Sustainability
Reporting Suite.
About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are
collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the
sixth largest bank in North
America by assets and serves over 27.5 million customers in
four key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial
centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking,
including TD Canada Trust and TD Auto Finance Canada; U.S. Retail,
including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, TD Auto Finance
U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in The Charles Schwab
Corporation; Wealth Management and Insurance, including TD Wealth
(Canada), TD Direct Investing, and
TD Insurance; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities and TD
Cowen. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial
services firms, with more than 17 million active online and mobile
customers. TD had $1.91 trillion in
assets on January 31, 2024. The
Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the
Toronto and New York Stock
Exchanges.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
From time to time, The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its
subsidiaries, collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or "the
Bank"), make written and/or oral forward-looking statements,
including in this document, in other filings with Canadian
regulators or the United States
(U.S.) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and in other
communications. In addition, representatives of the Bank may make
forward-looking statements orally to analysts, investors, the media
and others. All such statements are made pursuant to the "safe
harbour" provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking
statements under, applicable Canadian and U.S. securities
legislation, including the U.S. Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements made in this document regarding the Bank's
economic and sustainability (environmental, decarbonization and
social)-related objectives, vision, commitments, goals, metrics and
targets, including the Bank's net-zero and greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions reduction targets, its position on thermal coal, its
Sustainable & Decarbonization Finance Target, its goals and
targets pursuant to the Bank's social framework TD Pathways to
Economic Inclusion, and its other sustainability-related goals. Any
forward-looking statements contained in this document represent the
views of management only as of the date hereof and are presented
for the purpose of assisting the Bank's stakeholders in
understanding the Bank's vision, objectives, metrics and targets as
well as its economic and sustainability-related objectives and
impacts and may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as
"anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "forecast",
"goal", "intend", "may", "outlook", "plan", "possible",
"potential", "predict", "project", "should", "target", "will", and
"would" and similar expressions or variations thereof, or the
negative thereof, but these terms are not the exclusive means of
identifying such statements.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements require the
Bank to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties, general and specific. Especially in light of the
uncertainty related to the physical, financial, economic,
political, and regulatory environments, such risks and
uncertainties – many of which are beyond the Bank's control and the
effects of which can be difficult to predict – may cause actual
results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in the
forward-looking statements. In particular, because of the
limitations and uncertainties inherent in climate science, risk
analysis and reporting, the Bank has relied upon various market
practices, taxonomies, methodologies, criteria and standards, and
made reasonable approximations and assumptions, in establishing its
sustainability-related goals. However, there are many factors that
the Bank may not foresee or be able to accurately predict which may
impact the Bank's ability to achieve its sustainability-related
goals or otherwise achieve the results anticipated by such
forward-looking statements. Those factors include the absence of a
standardized taxonomy regarding sustainability-related terms
(including in meaning and scope), the absence of standardized
methodologies for classifying sustainability-related activities or
for evaluating their impact, the availability of comprehensive and
high-quality data (including from the Bank's clients on whom the
Bank may be required to rely for information), the assumptions
underlying third-party decarbonization scenarios, economic trends
(including changes in interest rates), fluctuations in the Bank's
clients' enterprise values, the applicable domestic and
international regulatory regimes, the need for active and
continuing participation of stakeholders (including enterprises,
financial institutions and governmental and non-governmental
organizations), the development and deployment of new technologies
and production methods, border measures, and the availability of
sector-specific solutions, among other unforeseen events or
conditions. Additional information regarding the assumptions, risks
and uncertainties underlying the Bank's forward-looking statements
can be found in the "Risk Factors and Management" section of the
Bank's 2023 Management's Discussion and Analysis, as may be updated
in subsequently filed quarterly reports to shareholders, which may
be found on http://www.td.com. These and other
factors may cause actual results to differ materially from the
Bank's expectations and may result in the Bank modifying its
forward-looking statements, including its sustainability-related
goals.
All such factors, as well as other uncertainties and
potential events, and the inherent uncertainty of forward-looking
statements, should be considered carefully when making decisions
with respect to the Bank. The Bank cautions readers not to place
undue reliance on the Bank's forward-looking statements.
The Bank does not undertake to update any forward-looking
statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to
time by or on its behalf, except as required by law.
Additional Caution Regarding Sustainability-Related
Disclosures
The Bank also cautions readers of the following regarding the
sustainability-related disclosures included in this
document:
- The terms "sustainability", "sustainable investing",
"sustainable finance", "ESG", "carbon neutral", "decarbonization",
"net-zero" and similar terms, taxonomies, methodologies, criteria
and standards are evolving in terms of both meaning and scope. As a
result, the Bank's use of such terms may vary over time to reflect
such evolution. Any references to such terms in this document are
intended as references to the internally defined criteria of the
Bank and not to any jurisdiction-specific regulatory definition or
voluntary standard that may exist.
- The Bank has assumed continued growth in its clients'
investments in and expenditures on sustainability activities
(including environmental, decarbonization and social activities) in
light of regulatory, policy, economic, technological, climatic and
other trends. The Bank has also assumed ordinary rates of growth
and development of the Bank's business, including in its lending,
financing, underwriting and advisory services, in its own
investments, in all sectors, in its ownership and control of
subsidiaries and in its geographic footprint (including through
relocations, mergers, acquisitions, or dispositions). If any of
these assumptions prove incorrect, it could have a material effect
on the Bank's sustainability-related goals and the Bank's ability
to meet them.
- There could be changes to the market practices, taxonomies,
methodologies, criteria and standards that regulators,
non-governmental bodies, the financial sector, civil society, the
Bank and its clients use to classify, measure, determine the
eligibility of, report on and verify financial transactions and
environmental, decarbonization and social activities for inclusion
toward the Bank's sustainability-related goals, or to evaluate the
impact of such activities. And in some cases, these market
practices, taxonomies, methodologies, criteria and standards may
not yet exist. The Bank may update its sustainability-related
goals, its progress toward those goals, and the eligibility of
certain transactions and activities, as appropriate, in light of
new and evolving market practices, taxonomies, methodologies,
criteria and standards.
- In making and implementing its sustainability-related goals,
the Bank must rely on data obtained from clients and other
third-party sources. The Bank's use of third-party data must not be
taken as an endorsement of the third-party or its data or be
construed as granting any form of intellectual property. Although
the Bank believes these sources are reliable, the Bank has not
independently verified any third-party data, or assessed the
assumptions underlying such data, and cannot guarantee the accuracy
of such third-party data or assumptions. The data used by the Bank
in connection with its sustainability-related goals, including to
evaluate clients' intended use of capital, may be limited in
quality, unavailable, or inconsistent across sectors. Certain
third-party data may also change over time as market practices,
taxonomies, methodologies, criteria and standards evolve. These
factors and related uncertainties could have a material effect on
the Bank's sustainability-related goals and the Bank's ability to
meet them.
- The Bank and its clients may need to or elect to purchase
carbon and clean energy instruments, including carbon offset and
removal credits and renewable energy credits, to meet
sustainability-related goals. The market for these instruments is
still developing and their availability may be limited. Some of
these instruments are also subject to the risk of invalidation or
reversal, and the Bank provides no assurance of the treatment of
any such instruments in the future. There may also be changes to
applicable regulations and standards that impact the market for
carbon and clean energy instruments. The maturity, liquidity and
economics of this market may make it more difficult for the Bank to
achieve its sustainability-related goals.
- Except as otherwise noted, the information contained in this
document is unaudited. Ernst & Young LLP ("EY") has performed a
limited assurance engagement for a select number of the Bank's
sustainability performance indicators, as set out in EY's
2023 Assurance Report for Sustainability Metrics, and a
reasonable assurance engagement for the Bank's use of net proceeds
from its 2021 Green Bond issuance, as set out in EY's 2023
Assurance Report for TD Green Bond (2021) Issuance – Use of
Proceeds. The remainder of the information contained in this
document was not subject to any assurance engagement. You can read
more about the scope of EY's work in the Assurance Reports
hyperlinked above.
Additional Disclaimers
This document is intended to provide information from a
different perspective and in more detail than is required to be
included in mandatory securities filings, and the information
contained herein should not be read as necessarily rising to the
level of materiality of disclosure required in our securities law
filings.
This document should not be used as a basis for trading in
securities of the Bank or for any other investment decision. This
document is not intended to constitute financial, legal, tax,
investment, professional or expert advice. No representation or
warranty, express or implied, is or will be made in relation to the
accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information contained
in this document.
This document may provide addresses of, or contain hyperlinks
to, websites that are not owned or controlled by the Bank. Each
such address or hyperlink is provided solely for the recipient's
convenience, and the content of linked third-party websites is not
in any way included or incorporated by reference into this
document. The Bank takes no responsibility for such websites or
their content, or for any loss or damage that may arise from their
use. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked
to this document, you do so at your own risk and subject to the
terms and conditions of such websites.
SOURCE TD Bank Group