BMO’s 2019 Sustainability Report demonstrates purpose in action across the bank

Every year, BMO releases a substantive public report that provides a detailed analysis of the bank’s performance against key sustainability indicators. The Sustainability Report (formerly titled the Environmental, Social and Governance Report) offers comprehensive insight into our progress, as well as an outline of our actions and responses to the issues that our stakeholders and the bank consider most relevant to our business.

In 2019, BMO shared our statement of Purpose with the world: Boldly Grow the Good in business and life. It is featured prominently in the Report, along with the tangible Bold Commitments the bank made this year. Critical information and analysis around BMO’s activities have been grouped into themes that reflect our Purpose: a sustainable future, a thriving economy and an inclusive society. A fourth theme, building a foundation of trust, outlines the conduct and actions that help the bank create and maintain trust with stakeholders – which allows us to take bold actions in support of fulfilling our Purpose.

The Report connects BMO’s Purpose and Bold Commitments directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which help shape the bank’s business operations and sustainability activities. It also features a comprehensive look at how BMO contributes to achieving these widely shared goals, with a focus on the seven SDGs upon which we believe we can have the greatest impact.

As always, the Sustainability Report pulls back the curtain on some of the most fascinating corners of BMO in a series of compelling articles, allowing readers to:

• Get a look inside the Fusion Centre, BMO’s state-of-the-art hub for our Financial Crimes Unit, and meet its head, Larry Zelvin.
• Gain new perspective on the importance of inclusion, and being truly present in interpersonal interactions, with Tracie Morris, U.S. Chief Human Resources Officer of BMO Harris Bank.
• Experience the voice of the customer coming through loud and clear in an interview with Anna Belanger, an Ottawa-based entrepreneur who has seen tremendous growth in her business, and has received advice and support from her BMO advisor, Kathlene Evanski.
• Learn more about sustainable finance, with a spotlight on how we are creating investment opportunities within an ESG framework through actions such as underwriting three critical and in-demand World Bank sustainability bonds in 2019.

Reflecting the centrality of the issue of climate change across the financial services industry globally, BMO’s Climate Report is offered this year as a special supplement to the Sustainability Report. Packaged as a self-contained downloadable report, the Climate Report reflects the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). As Dan Barclay and others described during the recent Bloomberg Sustainable Finance Week, BMO is resolute in its commitment to taking a leadership role in Canada on climate change. The Climate Report outlines the bank’s significant progress in 2019 on defining our approach to managing climate-related financial risks and opportunities.