Our Four Pillars
Commitment
We are committed to building a sustainable future and advancing a path toward a net-zero world. These efforts include maintaining carbon neutrality, adopting 100% renewable electricity purchases within our own operations, targeting net-zero financed emissions in our lending portfolio by 2050, and enhancing our approach to transparency in emissions measurement.
Capabilities
We provide insights and analysis focused on the intersection of climate change and finance, allowing us to be premier advisors and partners to our clients in the unfolding panorama of climate risks and opportunities. As thought leaders, we leverage sophisticated analytical capabilities, data-driven research and expertise to help our business, clients and partners to adjust and flourish in the evolving climate landscape.
Client Partnership
We are committed to helping our clients adapt to climate change and support their transition to a net-zero world. To support the bank and our clients’ own climate ambitions, we offer a tailored suite of products and services, including green advisory, investment, lending products and decarbonization roadmaps.
Convening for Climate Action
We drive insight and bring industry, government, investors and academia together to catalyze the climate conversation, collaborate on solutions, and accelerate a socially and economically just net-zero transition. We equip bank employees with the knowledge to encourage meaningful climate-informed business decisions, develop solutions for climate-sensitive sectors in North America, and explore the synergies between climate justice and social goals.
Recognition
Dow Jones Sustainability Indices: BMO is included in the DJSI Index – North America
World Benchmarking Alliance: BMO ranked top financial institution for contributing to a just and sustainable economy
Corporate Knights: 2023 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World
Ethisphere: BMO named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies
Climate Action Across BMO
Enterprise Risk and Portfolio Management
Enterprise Risk and Portfolio Management (ERPM) works to more fully integrate Environmental and Social (E&S) risk considerations, including climate risk, into and across our existing Enterprise-wide Risk Management Framework, and to increase our ability to identify, assess, manage, monitor and report on E&S risk as a transverse risk driver. ERPM’s E&S Risk Framework team works in close partnership with the Sustainability Office as it seeks to manage BMO’s E&S risk and help achieve our sustainability goals. ERPM’s Climate Scenario Analysis (CSA) team has implemented a CSA program to consistently analyze climate-related risks and opportunities facing the financial sector and key client industries.
Equity Research
As part of the department’s initiative to incorporate ESG analysis into its fundamental research offering, BMO Equity Research publishes thematic notes on climate change-driven risks and opportunities and increasingly tracks the performance of companies under coverage on climate change-relevant KPIs.
Global Asset Management (GAM)
As part of BMO GAM’s firm-wide commitment to Climate Action, BMO GAM’s Responsible Investment team supports the integration of climate factors into the investment process, develops investor-focused thought leadership on climate-related topics, and regularly engages with investee companies, industry associations, policymakers, and standard-setters on related climate risks and opportunities.
Operating Groups
Our three operating groups (Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets) lead strategies to capture business growth opportunities, including those associated with climate finance. Each operating group organizes itself differently to capture climate-related opportunities and manage climate-related risks.
Sustainability Office
The Sustainability Office oversees sustainability strategy and leads bank-wide initiatives on environmental and social risk, ESG-focused investor relations, sustainability-related disclosure, operational sustainability, and the bank’s own approach to sustainable finance.
Sustainable Finance
The team of experts in Sustainable Finance is partnering with clients in the transition to a net-zero future by bringing a sustainability lens to capital markets, including lending, bond underwriting, public offerings, M&A, advisory services and more. The Energy Transition Group is a leading and innovative team within our Investment and Corporate Banking Group that works with clients as they seek to decarbonize their operations and pursue energy transition opportunities.
Financed Emissions
At BMO, we track and report our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon-related assets using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. In 2021, we began to quantify and disclose financed emissions for certain sectors in accordance with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials Standard. Our operational emissions and financed emissions can be found in our most recent climate report.
Featured Publications
Nearly Half of Business Leaders in the U.S. and Canada Believe Climate Change Has Already Affected …
This is part 2 of a 2-part series on Decarbonization and Electrification of the Transportation. For…