Scotiabank garners four awards in total,
including Outstanding Global Leadership in Sustainability
Transparency
TORONTO, Aug. 19, 2021 /CNW/ - Scotiabank has been
recognized for its Outstanding Global Leadership in
Sustainability Transparency in the inaugural Global
Finance Sustainable Finance Awards. The Bank was also
awarded Outstanding Leadership in Sustainability
Transparency, Outstanding Leadership in Sustainable Project
Finance, and Financial Leadership in Sustaining
Communities in the North American category.
"ESG has become increasingly important to Scotiabank's
investors, our customers, our employees, and our communities around
the globe and demonstrating action on ESG has become a moral,
market and business imperative," said Jake
Lawrence, Group Head and CEO, Global Banking and Markets at
Scotiabank. "We are committed to supporting our clients with
industry-leading advice and expertise to help them achieve strong
business growth that is environmentally and socially
responsible."
"Our Bank's approach to sustainability is intended to deliver
economic, social and environmental value to our customers, our
operations and our communities," said Meigan Terry, SVP and Chief Communications and
Social Impact Officer. "Transparent and robust ESG disclosure is
the very foundation of fostering trust amongst all our
stakeholders. We are proud that our Bank's efforts to drive
consistency and comparability of ESG data have been recognized as
outstanding by Global Finance."
Scotiabank was also recognized by Global Finance for its
ScotiaRISE program. Launched in 2021, the Bank has committed
$500 million over ten years to
promote economic resilience among disadvantaged groups. The program
aims to remove barriers to prosperity by targeting investments
aimed at increasing high school graduation and post-secondary
participation, supporting newcomer integration, and eliminating
barriers to career advancement for underrepresented groups.
Sustainability Leadership:
Scotiabank is working to build a more sustainable business and
deliver for every future for our customers, employees, communities
and the environment. Earlier this year, the Bank launched its
inaugural Net Zero Research Fund as part of its commitment to
advance research and leadership in support of global
decarbonization. In pursuing its own net zero targets and pathways,
Scotiabank has committed to establishing bank-wide, quantitative,
time-bound targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated
with our underwriting and lending activities. To get there,
Scotiabank is undertaking a quantitative analysis of the greenhouse
gas intensity of the Bank's loan book and underwriting activities,
research on pathways to net zero, development of plans and targets
for reducing emissions, and creation of a reporting framework to
ensure transparency.
Additional examples include:
- Scotiabank recently announced the closing of its inaugural
USD 1 billion 3-year Sustainability
Bond offering, making it the largest Sustainability Bond issued by
a Canadian Financial or Corporate to-date.
- Announced plans to mobilize $10
billion over the next ten years in support of the Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporation to transform housing affordability
across the country.
- Served as bookrunner on almost $20
billion of green, social, sustainability and
sustainability-linked bonds since 2014.
- Achieved a 20% reduction in operational greenhouse gas
emissions from 2016 levels.
- Contributed nearly $85 million to
communities last year, through donations, community sponsorships,
employee volunteering and other types of community investment.
- Committed $3 billion to support
women-owned and women-led businesses.
- Renewed the bank's five-year Diversity and Inclusion Goals,
with a focus on people who identify as Black, Indigenous peoples,
visible minorities, People with Disabilities and Women.
- For the third consecutive year, achieved top 1% in Corporate
Governance among financial institutions globally according to the
Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and awarded a perfect score on
Anti-Crime Policies.
- Strengthened commitment to responsible procurement and supplier
diversity by joining the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier
Council, and became an Aboriginal Procurement Champion for the
Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.
- Published our second Green Bond Report to provide investors
with an overview of the estimated impact of the use of proceeds in
July 2021.
- Received a "AAA" rating from MSCI, a leading provider of
critical decision support tools and services for the global
investment community - held by only 2% of banks globally.
About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our
purpose: "for every future," we help our customers, their families
and their communities achieve success through a broad range of
advice, products and services, including personal and commercial
banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and
investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of
approximately 90,000 employees and assets of approximately
$1.1 trillion (as at April 30, 2021), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto
Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS).
For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us
on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.
SOURCE Scotiabank