We want to be a leader amongst financial institutions in Canada in the area of Environmental Sustainability, specifically in the area of understanding and addressing the environmental impacts of our own operational footprint.
The BMO ECO5 Strategy
Energy-Saving Award
BMO received the 2008 Green Enterprise IT Award for IT Hardware Asset Utilization
from the Uptime Institute for reducing energy consumption at our computer centre in the Greater Toronto Area. Through
the elimination of 409 servers, 40 peripheral devices and two storage subsystems, the
facility reduced its energy consumption by 526 kilowatts – equivalent to the energy 430 average-sized homes would use in a year.
We have built our environmental sustainability strategy around five key BMO operational activities that have the potential to significantly impact the environment.
The BMO ECO5 Strategy helps us accomplish several goals:
To provide an organizing framework to facilitate our efforts in the reduction of environmental impacts flowing from our operational activities;
To enable us to measure our company-wide GHG emissions and to achieve emissions reductions;
To realize cost savings;
To provide an improved structure to gather environmental performance data and publicly report on performance; and
To achieve continual improvement.
The five programs are documented, managed and periodically reviewed in accordance with the BMO Environmental Management System.
BMO Energy Reduction and Efficiency Program (ECO5– 1)
Overarching Objective: To realize optimal energy consumption reductions and efficiencies.
Program Highlights:
Green Power
BMO purchases in excess of 8,300 megawatt hours of emission-free electricity annually from Bullfrog Power.
LEED Branches
BMO has built a total of six new branches registered for LEED certification – four in Canada (two in Greater Toronto Area, one in Winnipeg, Manitoba and one in Calgary, Alberta) and two in the United States (Illinois & Indiana). Learn more...
BOMA BESt certification
As tenants, we continue to encourage our office tower landlords/facilities managers to achieve BOMA BESt certification, a national environmental recognition and certification program for commercial buildings. Many of the facilities in which we occupy space are already certified under this program.
Building Retrofits
Saving energy makes sound business sense. We continue to upgrade our facilities’ infrastructure (e.g. lighting, HVAC, building envelope) to increase operating efficiency and employee comfort in our buildings.
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
In December 2008, BMO achieved ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems certification at our 55 Bloor Street West location in Toronto, making us the first financial institution in Canada to achieve certification for an office building under this internationally recognized standard. Learn more...
“BMO’s purchase of clean, renewable power from Bullfrog is a significant step forward in its efforts to reduce its environmental impact. As one of the largest commercial purchasers of green power in Canada, BMO has demonstrated leadership among Canadian financial institutions.”
Overarching Objective: To minimize the environmental impacts flowing from transport use during BMO-related activities.
Program Highlights:
Public Transit Passes
BMO promotes the use of public transit by employees, to reduce vehicle emissions, as they travel to and from our offices. In the Toronto area, BMO has enrolled in the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) VIP “Green” Metropass Program. The TTC offers discounted transit passes to employees of companies like BMO that agree to manage the purchase and distribution of transit passes. In Vancouver, a similar program exists for BMO employees, as offered by TransLink, the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority.
Hybrid Vehicles
For our service fleet, we are working to ensure that our vehicles are as fuel-efficient as possible. In Chicago, the motor pool used by Harris employees now consists of 20 hybrid sedans. In Canada, BMO is now using 18 hybrid vehicles and will continue to convert service vehicles to the greener alternative as leases expire over the next few years. Eighteen percent of our total service vehicle fleet is now comprised of hybrid vehicles.
Reducing Air Travel
In order to reduce commercial air travel for non-customer-facing meetings, we issued a travel directive asking employees to utilize tools such as video-conferencing and teleconferencing whenever possible. BMO’s Audio Visual Services has developed an online tool for BMO employees with an overview of the different types of collaboration technology available, which include TelePresence, VideoConference, WebCast and Teleconference.
Greenteam Courier
Greenteam Courier is a Toronto-based company that has eliminated motorized delivery vehicles from its fleet in the downtown core by using bicycles, foot and public transit couriers to facilitate pick-ups and deliveries. BMO Nesbitt Burns uses Greenteam personnel for over half their deliveries.
Overarching Objective: To reduce unnecessary material use while improving the efficiency in the use of materials.
Program Highlights:
Paper Reduction
We have introduced a number of paper reduction initiatives. Examples include: duplex printing (front/back of page); electronic pay slips where employees have access online; electronic faxes; and employee awareness initiatives to encourage reduced printing and invite paper-saving suggestions.
Building Materials
In new construction and renovation projects for our facilities, we continue to focus on the use of more sustainable materials. Examples include the use of carpet tiles made from recycled materials and manufactured in a very sustainable fashion, low VOC paints and adhesives and more energy-efficient lighting systems.
Cleaning Products
The use of “green” cleaning products by janitorial services personnel is one of the standards now in place to further our protection of the environment.
Overarching Objective: To realize a reduction in waste going to landfill and promote recycling.
Program Highlights:
Technology Disposal Program
BMO’s Technology Disposal Program is designed to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of our customers and employees, while also minimizing the environmental impact of the disposal of unwanted equipment. When possible, we donate equipment, including computers, fax machines and cell phones, to charitable organizations. Non-usable equipment is disposed of using environmentally friendly methods. In 2008, 110 metric tonnes of technology equipment were donated or disposed of in an environmentally friendly fashion.
Paper Shredding & Recycling
BMO partners with Iron Mountain®, a leading records and information management service, to provide secure shredding for all BMO branches and facilities across Canada and the US. This program provides added security for customers and employees. Furthermore, Iron Mountain provides a detailed tally of all paper captured, shredded and recycled, enabling us to accurately measure our paper consumption and recycling efforts. In the past year, we have successfully shredded and recycled more than 4,090 metric tonnes of office paper across Canada and the United States, the equivalent of more than 76,650 trees.
Organics Composting
In a number of our facilities, we have implemented organics composting programs whereby kitchen food waste and soiled kitchen/washroom paper towels are now being diverted from landfill for composting.
Hazardous Materials
BMO is committed to ongoing compliance with the applicable environmental legal requirements. Examples include:
Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS) or equivalent programs in place with building personnel and contractors thoroughly trained
Municipal sewer bylaws
Containment and reporting of spills as appropriate
Asbestos abatement programs as appropriate
Proper disposal of fluorescent tubes from building fixtures
Overarching Objective: To employ a rigorous process that will ensure BMO takes into account environmental and social considerations during the procurement process.
Program Highlights:
Sustainable Procurement
BMO is committed to purchasing products and services from environmentally responsible suppliers. We have a comprehensive sustainable procurement practice designed to include environmental and social considerations in the process for evaluating and selecting suppliers across the enterprise. We also work with key suppliers to communicate our requirements, and the means of meeting our procurement criteria. To download BMO Sustainable Procurement Questionnaire, click here.
