Ranking is reflective of the bank's commitment to a sustainable future, says GC Sharon Haward-Laird
BMO Financial Group has been named to Corporate Knights' ranking of Canada's Best 50 Corporate Citizens.
Ranked first among major Canadian banks, BMO received top-quartile scores in board gender diversity, executive diversity, and sustainability pay link. It also received a top-quartile ‘clean revenue’ score driven by its sustainable finance strategy.
"We're honoured to be among the top corporate citizens in Canada and to have been included in the top fifty since its inception in 2002," said Sharon Haward-Laird, General Counsel and Executive Committee Sponsor for Sustainability at BMO Financial Group. "This ranking is a reflection of the progress BMO is making with our commitments for a thriving economy, sustainable future and an inclusive society."
The Best 50 Corporate Citizens honorees are selected from a pool of 332 Canadian companies with revenues over $1 billion. Each is evaluated on a set of up to 21 environmental, social and governance indicators, relative to their industry peers and using publicly available information.
BMO announced its goal to be a lead partner for its clients in the transition to a net-zero world in March 2021. It is committed to deploying $300 billion in capital to clients pursuing sustainable outcomes by 2025 and, since December 2019, has completed green and sustainability-linked loans for companies in a range of sectors, with targets including decarbonization, diversity & inclusion, and health and safety. To support clients' pursuit of opportunities driven by the need to decarbonize, in 2021 BMO established a dedicated energy transition group and the BMO climate institute.
BMO's leadership on sustainability has been recognized on a number of rankings, including Corporate Knights' Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and Ethisphere Institute's list of the World's Most Ethical Companies.
