TORONTO and CHICAGO, Dec. 18,
2020 /PRNewswire/ - BMO Financial Group has published
its 2020 Sustainability Report. The report can be downloaded
at https://our-impact.bmo.com/reports/
The 2020 Sustainability Report provides BMO's environmental,
social and governance (ESG) disclosure, with a focus on issues
identified by stakeholders as most affecting the bank's
sustainability. The report also includes the Public Accountability
Statements for Bank of Montreal and its applicable
subsidiaries: Bank of Montreal Mortgage Corporation, BMO Life
Assurance Company and BMO Life Insurance Company.
"We are very pleased to present our 13th Sustainability Report
to our stakeholders," said Simon
Fish, General Counsel and Chair of BMO's Sustainability
Council. "Our bank is committed to responding to today's most
pressing challenges and to creating long-term value for our
stakeholders. We're doing this by applying industry-leading
approaches in key areas like sustainable finance, climate change,
human rights, diversity, equity and inclusion."
Our 2020 Sustainability Report highlights:
- BMO's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including how we are
supporting our employees, customers and communities through the
crisis.
- How we are living our Purpose, including reporting on progress
made toward our Bold Commitments and introducing our Zero Barriers
to Inclusion 2025 strategy and goals.
- Progress made toward our commitment to mobilize $400 billion in sustainable finance by 2025.
Surpassed our goal to align $250
billion in client investments with sustainable objectives,
and achieved 71% of our commitment to mobilize $150 billion in capital to companies pursuing
sustainable objectives.
- Enhancement of our disclosure of our approach to environmental
and social risk management including responsible lending and
sustainable procurement.
- BMO's 2020 Climate Report -- managing climate-related risks and
opportunities in line with the Taskforce on Climate-related
Financial Disclosures (TCFD), including details of the
climate-related scenario analysis work completed in 2020. In 2020,
our lending to carbon-related assets amounted to 3.0% of our total
lending portfolio.
- In 2020 we set and achieved a goal to match 100% of our global
electricity use with electricity procured from renewable sources,
including investing in renewable energy certificates that will
enable the generation of over 400,000 MWh of renewable
electricity.
- Our first Sustainability Bond Impact Report with information on
the allocation of proceeds and quantitative and qualitative
descriptions of positive impacts resulting from the sustainability
bond we issued in October 2019.
- An updated sustainability materiality assessment, conducted
using an artificial intelligence and big data platform.
- New disclosures in line with the Sustainability Accounting
Standards Board (SASB) standards.
In 2020, BMO's sustainability disclosure contributed to the
company's standing on numerous rankings, including:
- Ranked 15th on the Wall Street Journal's 2020 list
of the 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies in the World, third
overall on Social Capital
- Ranked in the top 10% of banks globally on the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index
- Top ranked North American bank on Corporate Knights 2020 Global
100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World
- Scored an A- on the 2020 CDP Climate Change Questionnaire
- Ethisphere® Institute's list of the 2020 World's Most Ethical
Companies®
- Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (2020) for the fourth year in a
row
- Forbes 2020 Best Employers for Diversity (United States)
- Corporate Knights 2020 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in
Canada
About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for
200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial
services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North
America. With total assets of $949 billion as
of October 31, 2020, and a team of diverse and highly engaged
employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial
banking, wealth management and investment banking products and
services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business
through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking,
BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.
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SOURCE BMO Financial Group