Earth Day 2021: BMO Turns Trades into Trees

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Apr 22, 2021, 08:00 ET

BMO Capital Markets' Trees from Trades day will see a portion of Earth Day fixed-income trading fees donated to plant thousands of trees
Key partnerships with the Priceless Planet Coalition and Veritree will help BMO continue to Grow the Good through tree planting

TORONTO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - This year BMO Financial Group (TSX: BMO) (NYSE: BMO) is celebrating Earth Day by kicking off the inaugural BMO Capital Markets "Trees from Trades" initiative -- donating part of the day's global fixed-income trading proceeds to plant thousands of trees.

Trees from Trades day is an innovative approach to fundraising, similar to BMO's annual Equity Through Education day, which raises funds through a percentage of institutional equity commissions on one day each autumn. On Earth Day, BMO Capital Markets has committed to planting trees for fixed income securities traded around the world, including 10 trees for every $1 million of ESG bonds traded (bonds with proceeds raised specifically for Environmental, Social and Governance uses or with pricing linked to progress on sustainability goals).

"At BMO, we are proud to help Grow the Good in business and in life, and to take every opportunity to help build a more sustainable world," said Deland Kamanga, Head, Global Markets, BMO Capital Markets. "Our new Trees from Trades program will see BMO Capital Markets Fixed Income Currencies and Commodities group help fund tree planting for a greener planet."

"Planting trees is a nature-based solution to reducing the impact of greenhouse gas emissions that also helps create jobs, reforest lands and recharge local ecosystems," said Michael Torrance, BMO Chief Sustainability Officer. "The trees we plant as a result of Trees from Trades and other critical partnerships further our ongoing commitment to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions and working toward a net zero future."

Tree planting will be carried out in partnership with the Priceless Planet Coalition and Veritree. In 2020, BMO was the first Canadian bank to join the Mastercard Priceless Planet Coalition which was created by Mastercard to unite businesses and consumers in the restoration of 100 million trees in five years. Veritree is a platform that provides on-the-ground transparency to global reforestation efforts.

BMO continues to make significant progress on its Purpose to double the good for a sustainable future:

In 2019, BMO unveiled its Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, announcing commitments to double the good for a thriving economy, sustainable future and inclusive society
BMO has been carbon neutral across its operations since 2010 and in October 2020 reached a key milestone in matching 100 per cent of electricity usage with renewable electricity
In 2019, BMO issued a $500 million USD Sustainability Bond with use of proceeds tied to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
In February 2021, BMO provided the first labelled Green Loan in Canadian history to Atlantic Packaging to finance a new 100 percent recycled containerboard facility, and worked with Atlantic to publish a Green Financing Framework
In March 2021, the bank announced its climate ambition, including plans to build unique climate analytics capabilities to be its clients' lead partner in the transition to a net zero world. As part of the announcement the bank introduced the BMO Climate Institute, a multi-disciplinary organization harnessing science, analytics powered by innovative technology and industry leading expertise. As part of its commitment to Sustainable Finance, BMO has committed to deploying $300 billion in sustainable lending and underwriting by 2025.

BMO's leadership on sustainability has been recognized on numerous rankings:

Ranked 15^th on The Wall Street Journal's 2020 list of the 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies in the World, third overall on Social Capital, only bank in North America
Top North American bank on Corporate Knights' 2021 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World for the second year in a row
Ranked in the top 10 per cent of banks globally on the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and the top North American bank
Scored an A- on the 2020 CDP Climate Change disclosure
Ethisphere^® Institute's 2020 list of the World's Most Ethical Companies^®
Corporate Knights 2020 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada
Joint winner of Environmental Finance's 2021 Lead Manager of the Year, Social Bonds – Local Authority/Municipality category

For more information on BMO's commitment to a sustainable future, please visit the bank's Sustainability Report. To learn more about sustainable finance at BMO click here. For BMO's climate ambition, visit our Climate page.

About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $973 billion as of January 31, 2021, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group