TORONTO, Dec. 14, 2022 /CNW/ - Scotiabank is pleased to announce it has been named to the Dow Jones™ Sustainability North America Index (DJSI) for the fifth consecutive year. The DJSI is considered the industry standard for measuring corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.

The DJSI is compiled annually based on S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), which evaluates the ESG performance of participating companies over the preceding year. The DJSI North America Index recognizes the top 20% of sustainability performers among the 600 largest companies in the U.S. and Canada based on long-term economic, environmental and social criteria.

This year the Bank scored in the top 5 per cent of participating financial institutions, with perfect scores in the categories of Anti-Crime Policy & Measures and Risk & Crisis Management. Scotiabank ranked in the 99^th percentile among global financial institutions in Corporate Governance and Corporate Citizenship & Philanthropy, and also received top scores in areas of Privacy Protection, Climate Strategy, and Talent Attraction and Retention.

"We are proud of Scotiabank's strong performance in this year's Dow Jones Sustainability Index," says Meigan Terry, SVP & Chief Sustainability, Social Impact, and Communications Officer at Scotiabank. "Scotiabank continues to invest in initiatives that have the greatest impact on the people and communities we serve with pride and provide support for every future. This recognition from DJSI further validates our commitment to operate at the highest ESG standards across our global footprint."

Over the past year, some of Scotiabank's corporate sustainability achievements include:

• Launching Scotiabank's inaugural ScotiaRISE Impact Report, which highlights the program's first-year results, from the Bank's $500 million, 10-year community investment commitment. Since the launch of ScotiaRISE, the Bank has partnered with more than 200 community organizations and invested more than $60 million in communities across Scotiabank's footprint.
• Releasing Scotiabank's inaugural Net-Zero Pathways Report, which includes sector-specific decarbonization baselines and targets.
• Actioning its commitment to invest $350 billion by 2030 to help reduce the impacts of climate change, having mobilized a total of $96 billion in climate-related finance in 2022, up from $58 billion in 2021. This commitment includes lending, investing, financing and advisory, as well as investments in the Bank's direct operations and communities where it operates to help reduce the impacts of climate change.
• Committing $25 million in community investment by 2030 to support non-profit and charitable partnerships that help advance the transition to a net-zero economy. Within this program, our $10 million Net Zero Research Fund has provided grants to 21 projects in North and Latin America
• Achieving a 25% reduction of Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions (from 2016 levels) four years ahead of our 2025 target.
• Publishing our Sustainable Bonds report, covering the green and social use of proceeds for our Sustainable Bond issuances, including Scotiabank's inaugural USD 1 billion 3-year sustainability bond proceeds of which are used to fund the financing or refinancing of eligible assets aligned with Scotiabank's Sustainable Bond Framework, supporting clients in their sustainable business growth.
• Implementing a new global standard for parental leave, and expanding fertility benefits for employees in Canada

To read more about Scotiabank's sustainability strategy and Climate Commitments visit www.scotiabank.com/sustainability.

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 over 90,000 employees and assets of over $1.3 trillion (as at October 31, 2022), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @Scotiabank.

SOURCE Scotiabank