Environment
Climate change is one of the far-reaching challenges facing this generation and generations to come, one that has profound implications for our customers, investors, communities – and our business. At BMO, we are committed to being part of the solution, which includes managing our carbon footprint, considering the indirect impacts of our businesses and supporting the need for transparency in corporate climate change disclosure.
Reducing Our Footprint
Our environmental sustainability office has the mandate to design, implement and maintain a sustainable enterprise-wide Environmental Management System that reduces the direct impact of BMO’s operational footprint on the environment and raises awareness within the organization. Some examples of our efforts in 2007 follow.
Green Energy
In September 2007, we signed a three-year agreement with Bullfrog Power, a green electricity retailer that markets energy from clean, renewable sources like wind power and low-impact water power, to purchase 5,000 megawatt hours of emission-free electricity annually. Up to 53 branches in Ontario and Alberta will be bullfrogpowered™, including our flagship branches at First Canadian Place® in Toronto and First Canadian Centre® in Calgary. As a result, we will reduce our overall carbon emissions by more than 3,000 tonnes per year. With this investment, BMO becomes the leading financial services institution on the bullfrogpowered green index.
Building Green Branches
In 2007, we committed to build three branches in Canada and one in the United States, for certification under the Canadian and U.S. green building councils’ Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. LEED certification covers the design, construction and operation of green buildings and will enable us to measure a building’s performance in areas such as water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor air quality. We expect energy savings in excess of 45% at each participating branch. That’s good for the environment and for our business.
Sustainable Procurement
As we grow our business, we want to buy goods and services from environmentally responsible suppliers. Recently, we introduced a more comprehensive sustainable procurement practice designed to include environmental and social considerations into the process for evaluating and selecting BMO suppliers, enterprise-wide.
The World Beyond
We recognize that there is an environmental impact associated with the businesses that we engage in. We recently benchmarked our response to climate change risks and opportunities against those of other financial services institutions recognized for best practices in this area. We are using this information to shape our strategic plans. Additionally, we collaborated with other financial services institutions in a study that examines the role of the financial services sector in protecting and conserving Canada’s boreal forest.
Through our ongoing affiliation with global environmental organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme, we continue to contribute to the discussion and use the knowledge we gain to enhance our own environmental management practices while promoting environmental sustainability globally.
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