OREANDA-NEWS. BMO Financial Group has published its 2015 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report and Public Accountability Statement (PAS), entitled Making tomorrow better.

The report outlines the environmental, social and governance issues that matter most to our customers, our stakeholders and our business. The report also includes the Public Accountability Statements for Bank of Montreal, Bank of Montreal Mortgage Corporation and BMO Trust Company, as required under the Canadian Bank Act.

Among the achievements reported in the 2015 ESG Report and PAS, BMO:

  • Helped raise approximately $2.9 billion of equity and debt in the capital markets for entities active in renewable energy across North America;
  • Maintained its carbon neutral status as it has since 2010;
  • Maintained its ISO 14001 certification for its Environmental Management Systems in two buildings in the Greater Toronto Area;
  • Provided more than US$947.3 million in community development loans to support economic development, community service and quality affordable housing in the U.S.; and
  • Contributed more than $56 million in donations to non-profit organizations across North America.

"The title 'Making tomorrow better,' perfectly captures the essence of who we are as a bank," said Simon Fish, General Counsel for BMO Financial Group and Chair, BMO Sustainability Council. "We feel strongly about our obligation to the communities where we live and work."

BMO is listed on several key sustainability indices, including: Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, Jantzi Social Index, FTSE4Good Series Index and 2015 Canada 200 Climate Disclosure Leadership Index.

BMO is also listed among the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, Maclean's/Jantzi-Sustainalytics' Top 50 Socially Responsible Corporations in Canada and Corporate Knights Magazine's Best 50 Corporate Citizens.

For the second year, the ESG Report has been prepared in accordance with the Core options as set out in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 Guidelines. KPMG has provided Limited Assurance on selected data contained in the report for the fourth straight year.

BMO's Corporate Responsibility Report complements the ESG Report/PAS and includes a collection of stories about our relationships with our customers and the communities where we operate.