BMO Provides Innovative New Sustainability-Linked Deposit Product to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

News provided by

Jul 18, 2023, 08:30 ET

Sustainability Linked Deposits (SLD) reward business account holders who achieve predetermined sustainability targets
SLDs join a suite of options offered by BMO to help business clients make progress on their sustainability goals

TORONTO, July 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - BMO (TSX: BMO) (NYSE: BMO) today announced it is providing its innovative new Sustainability-Linked Deposit (SLD) product to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions (NYSE: ZWS), a client and leading engineered water solutions company. A Sustainability-Linked Deposit links the interest paid on a deposit account to a client's achievement of defined sustainability targets. SLDs are a unique addition to BMO's suite of liquidity management offerings and the options BMO provides to support clients on their sustainability journey, including Sustainability-Linked Loans (SLL), Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLB), and Sustainability-Linked Derivatives.

"BMO's Sustainability-Linked Deposit offering supports BMO's Climate Ambition to be our clients' lead partner in the transition to a net-zero world, and the progress we're making for a thriving economy, a sustainable future, and an inclusive society," said Jonathan Hackett, Head, Sustainable Finance, BMO Capital Markets. "SLDs represent an innovative way we can continue to leverage our leadership and expertise in sustainable finance to help clients achieve real results."

"Zurn Elkay's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) progress – and our focus – are guided by our commitment to simply Do the Right Thing," said Todd A. Adams, Chairman and CEO of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions. "We are not only firmly on track to meet our initial set of ESG targets, but we have also built on that strong foundation by adding new time-bound goals and targets in 2023 to provide even greater transparency and accountability. These newly established goals will further improve our supplier diversity, air emissions, waste reduction, plastic bottle elimination, engineering and research and development (R&D) spending and Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR)."

BMO is a leading North American bank in structuring Sustainability-Linked Loans and ESG Bonds, working closely with a wide range of clients to integrate sustainability into their financing activities and, now, liquidity management. BMO has worked with Zurn Elkay to assess and select a material, credible and ambitious sustainability target: reducing the company's Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas intensity in line with its longer-term goal of a 50 per cent reduction by 2030 against 2021 levels. Zurn Elkay aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions further through energy efficiency measures as well as renewable energy generation and procurement. Further information on Zurn Elkay's energy reduction and decarbonization initiatives is available in the company's 2022 Sustainability Report. Zurn Elkay has also recently completed its first inventory of Scope 3 emissions – spanning its value chain activities – with the objective of obtaining Science-based Targets initiative (SBTi) validation in the near future.

"We're excited to be one of the first to offer this innovative new feature to our business clients across North America," said Derek Vernon, Head, North American Treasury and Payment Solutions Product Management and Payments Modernization, BMO. "Our clients are looking for ways to be more sustainable while optimizing their working capital, and SLDs offer a simple incentive that both benefits businesses and contributes to the health of the planet."

Zurn Elkay and Sustainability

Zurn Elkay embeds ESG considerations into its annual strategic planning process and ties its sustainability goals directly to its success. Its ESG strategy is organized within five key pillars: Environmental, Health and Safety, People, Communities, Governance and Ethics. Named one of America's Most Responsible Companies for three consecutive years by Newsweek, Zurn Elkay also develops solutions that help manage the most-important natural resource – water. In addition, Zurn Elkay's environmental handprint reduces its customers' environmental footprint. The company designs products that conserve and protect water, reduce energy consumption, mitigate the impact of climate change, eliminate the need for single-use plastic bottles, and its touchless and hygienic solutions help to fight the spread of viruses, bacteria, and other germs.

BMO and Sustainability

As part of its Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is driving progress toward a more sustainable future. Carbon neutral in its own operations since 2010, BMO announced its Climate Ambition, to be its clients' lead partner in the transition to a net-zero world, in March 2021 alongside the launch of the BMO Climate Institute. The bank's climate ambition builds on a previous commitment to mobilize $300 billion (CAD) in sustainable lending and underwriting to companies pursuing sustainable outcomes by 2025. In 2021 BMO established a dedicated Energy Transition Group, to support clients' pursuit of opportunities driven by the increasing momentum of the global economy's shift in production and consumption of energy.

BMO's sustainability leadership continues to be recognized on global rankings, including number one bank on the World Benchmarking Alliance's 2022 Financial System Benchmark released at COP 27, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Ethisphere Institute's list of the World's Most Ethical Companies, and the most sustainable bank in North America for the fourth year in a row on Corporate Knights' 2023 Ranking of the World's 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.

BMO is a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Banking, the Operating Principles for Impact Investment, and the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials. BMO has been recognized for world class sustainability disclosure in line with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. In 2021 BMO was named Chair of the Cross-Sector Biodiversity Initiative to develop and share good practices related to biodiversity and ecosystem services in the extractive industries.

For information on BMO's Purpose and commitments to a sustainable future, visit its Sustainability Report, Purpose, Climate and Zero Barriers to Inclusion 2025 pages.

About BMO Financial Group

BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.25 trillion as of April 30, 2023. Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services to over 13 million customers across Canada, the United States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future and inclusive society.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group