With a notable commitment to sustainability and a series of innovative collaborations, TD is at the forefront of addressing climate change.
As climate change remains one of the most critical challenges of our time, one Canadian bank stands out as a leader in its commitment to environmental sustainability.
In November 2020, TD announced its global Climate Action Plan, which includes a target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for its operations and financing activities by 2050, in alignment with the principles of the Paris Agreement.
The announcement is in line with TD’s long-standing emphasis on corporate citizenship and environmental sustainability. In 2010, TD was the first bank in North America to become carbon neutral, and this plan further strengthens the bank’s resolve to help drive positive impacts globally as a top North American financial institution. Since 2017, TD has contributed over $56 billion of its $100 billion commitment in low-carbon lending, financing, asset management, and internal corporate programs by 2030. In 2020, the bank issued its inaugural sustainability bond to direct capital toward green and social projects in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to help build a more sustainable economy.
An actionable plan
While long-term, ambitious goals are important to mobilize people, setting shorter-term targets is essential. To help ensure progress, a significant step in TD’s leadership journey is to integrate its Climate Action Plan into its business operations. These strategies include a focus on data measurement and analytics, whereby TD will use industry-specific approaches to prioritize greenhouse gas reduction in each sector. To this end, the bank has joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials to support the development of carbon accounting methodologies for financial institutions globally, as well as the Institute of Sustainable Finance and the Center for Climate-Aligned Finance at the Rocky Mountain Institute. TD has also established the ESG Centre of Expertise, drawing on experts across TD to invest in research and support academic progress and technological innovation.
To support its clients, TD has established a Sustainable Finance and Corporate Transitions group. The group will provide clients with advice on a variety of things like sustainability-focused financing. Furthermore, in recognition that the Arctic Circle is a unique and fragile environment, vital to the health of the global climate system, TD won’t provide new project-specific financial services, for the exploration, development, or production of oil and gas within it.
Nicole Vadori
Associate Vice President and Head of Environment at TD
Nicole Vadori shares insight into why TD created its ambitious Climate Action Plan.
Why did TD feel the need to release its Climate Action Plan?
Achieving long-term sustainable growth is critical to our future prosperity. Climate change poses real business challenges, as well as environmental and social ones, which will require consistent effort over many years to overcome. But it cannot be done alone or by one person or organization. It requires the collective action of governments, businesses, researchers, thought leaders, civil society, and everyday citizens. We recognize that the path to meeting our climate change targets is still being established, but our proposed actions set now will help support our clients and help them capture the opportunities as we transition to a low-carbon economy.
As someone who works for TD, how does it feel to have an employer that’s striving to implement such an ambitious plan for environmental sustainability?
COVID-19 showed us how quickly the world can change, and climate change is another global crisis that requires immediate action. Although the task ahead of us is ambitious, I’m proud to be a part of a company that lives its purpose and does the right thing in the face of uncertainty.
Reaching a low-carbon future will require conscious choices from
everyone. Visit td.com/tdreadycommitment and td.com/esg to learn more about what TD does to build a bank with purpose.
