Annual reporting on the Bank's sustainability activities features progress updates on net-zero targets and support for community investment and economic resilience initiatives

TORONTO, March 10, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Scotiabank released its 2022 Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. Annually, the ESG report provides key updates and insights into Scotiabank's progress on its environmental, social and governance initiatives in its operations, with its customers and in communities across its footprint.

"Purpose is embedded in Scotiabank's DNA—we're here for every future, to help our customers, colleagues, shareholders, and communities thrive," said Scott Thomson, President & CEO of Scotiabank. "Through our role as a global financial services company, our position as a world-class employer, and the impactful investments that we make in the communities in which we operate, Scotiabank plays a positive and meaningful role in addressing some of the biggest challenges facing society and the world today."

"This report reflects the pivotal year we had in 2022, as we accelerated our ESG efforts across the Bank and made meaningful progress against our stated commitments," said Meigan Terry, SVP and Chief Sustainability, Social Impact and Communications Officer at Scotiabank. "We reached a number of important milestones, including launching our inaugural Net-Zero Pathways Report, ScotiaRISE Impact Report, and Allyship Summit, amongst other achievements. These accomplishments are a demonstration of the positive and meaningful impact that the Bank and our team continue to have on the world around us." 

This year's report provides updates on the Bank's enhanced climate reporting, net-zero transition activities, and progress on its ScotiaRISE program, and integrates the Bank's Canadian Public Accountability Statement. Scotiabank's 2022 ESG Report demonstrates the Bank's ongoing commitment to transparency, reporting on key ESG topics across its four-pillars— Environmental Action, Economic Resilience, Inclusive Society and Leadership and Governance.   

Key highlights from the report include:

Environment

• Mobilized $96 billion in climate-related financing since November 1, 2018, towards a target of $350 billion by 2030.
• Generated $35.3 billion of sustainable finance activity in 2022, including green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds, loans and M&A advisory services.
• Achieved 29% reduction of Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions within the Bank's operations (from 2016 levels) against our target of 35% reduction by 2030.
• Outlined net-zero activities and granted $2 million to 21 organizations exploring decarbonization and climate-related systems change since the launch of Scotiabank's $10 million Net- Zero Research Fund in 2021.
• See also page 106 on Net Zero.

Social

• Deployed $5.6 billion in capital through The Scotiabank Women Initiative in Canada and expanded the program to Jamaica, Costa Rica and Chile to help increase economic and professional opportunities for women-owned businesses.
• Contributed $91 million globally to communities through donations, community sponsorships, employee volunteering and other community investments.
• Through ScotiaRISE, distributed $34 million in 2022, reaching people at more than 400,000 critical moments in time. ScotiaRISE has supported more than 200 community partners with community investments in a 10-year, $500 million initiative to promote economic resilience among disadvantaged groups.
• Ranked one of the top 25 World's Best Workplaces by Great Place to Work® in 2022 — the only Bank and the only Canadian-headquartered company to make the list.

Governance

• Enhanced Scotiabank's enterprise-wide Risk Management Framework, expanding its principal risk definition from environmental risk to ESG risk and established an ESG performance metric as a risk appetite metric.
• Linked ESG performance, including progress on the Bank's climate commitments, to all Bank performance pay.
• Published Data Ethics Principles and launched new tools to enhance the Bank's investments in data and analytics related to new AI and machine learning projects.

Reporting on ESG topics and Scotiabank's efforts is provided through the 2022 ESG Report and companion ESG Data Pack and Indices, providing multi-year performance data in excel format and references to recognized ESG reporting frameworks.  Please refer to the About This Report, Forward-Looking Statements sections and data considerations provided in the 2022 ESG Report. Visit our Responsibility & Impact page to access other sustainability-related publications, commitments and initiatives. 

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 January 31, 2023), 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