CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Commitments and impact

Discover how we're working to build a sustainable future for everyone

Read our last ESG report

 

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Commitments and impact

Discover how we're working to build a sustainable future for everyone

Our commitment to sustainability

Our One Mission is to have a positive impact on people’s lives, and building a sustainable future is a part of that. Our environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles demonstrate our commitment to building a sustainable future while representing the best interests of society.

Our ESG principles at a glance

Picto of a leaf in a circle

We’re working to develop a green economy

Picto of a handshake

We’re enriching communities

Picto of a magnifying glass

We govern according to the highest standards

Environment: our targets and contributions

As a major player in the Canadian financial industry, we’re determined to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment. We aim to maintain the highest standards of climate risk management and support our clients in implementing sustainable practices.

Our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets

Here are two of our concrete commitments to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

↓ 25%

Net-zero

Our support for energy transition

Among our initiatives, we helped finance the Grand Renewable Wind project in Ontario. This 67-turbine plant produces 149 MW, enough clean energy to power 50,000 homes in Ontario. That's the equivalent of taking 83,000 cars off the road each year compared to carbon production.

Social: people first

We believe that people are the foundation of our success. That’s why we’re committed to our clients, team, and community.

Our clients

Our team

Our community

Supporting financial education

Governance: our high ethical standards

We promote a strong ethics culture, sound governance practices, and rigorous risk management.

Ensuring cybersecurity

Our ESG initiatives in detail

Learn more about our ESG initiatives and engagements in our 2023 Report on Environmental, Social and Governance Progress.

Our reports

Browse our reports, and codes and commitments for detailed information on our economic, social, and environmental impacts.
 

Through our philanthropic efforts, we're able to give back to the community. We support many organizations in a variety of fields, selected according to strict guidelines.

Little details that matter

Want to apply for a donation? Follow the steps below if your donation request is for:

  • An annual fundraising campaign

  • A major fundraising campaign

How to request a donation:

  1. Review the eligibility criteria below to see if your application is eligible for funding. Please note that eligibility does not guarantee funding. Each application follows an evaluation process and financial support is granted according to the available budget and National Bank's objectives.
  2. Once your online application is submitted, you'll receive a confirmation email. Please allow three months for a response. The timeline may be longer if we receive a very large number of requests or if yours is incomplete. If this happens, we'll contact you for more information.

The selection process is guided by our donation policy, which serves as a tool in the evaluation of applications received. This process is designed to be as fair and transparent as possible and to maximize the impact on the community.

Eligibility criteria

For National Bank to consider your application, it needs to meet the following criteria:

  • Come from a non-profit organization

  • Address National Bank's priority sectors, as described in the donations section. These include health, education, community support, arts and culture, entrepreneurship, inclusion and diversity, and the environment.

Exclusions

At National Bank, we believe that all not-for-profit organizations deserve support. Unfortunately, we can't fund all the requests we receive, no matter how worthy they are. To standardize our approach, we prefer to focus our philanthropic efforts outside the following areas:

  • Organizations that are not registered under federal law

  • Organizations that receive financial support from United Way/Centraide

  • Provincial campaigns for organizations that we already support at the national level

  • Social clubs

  • Political parties, political organizations, or interest groups promoting a political ideology

  • Lobby and special-interest groups

  • Individual projects

  • Private foundations

  • Private elementary and high schools

  • Projects taking place outside Canada

  • Annual conferences and meetings

  • Audio, video or web productions

  • Charity auctions

Donation management

National Bank applies these criteria to all eligible requests, and the selection of organizations that receive financial support is based on those criteria. We consider the following:

  • Nature of the request and financial objective of the campaign

  • History of donations already made to the requesting organization

  • Value of our commitments in the requesting organization's sector

  • Analysis of comparable donations made in the same sector

  • Commitment of our employees to that cause or organization

Other types of donations

The majority of National Bank's contributions to organizations may be of a financial nature, but donations can sometimes take another form.

Equipment donations

Occasionally, National Bank will donate furniture and equipment that it is no longer being used. 

Responding to urgent needs

In addition to concerted action and our donation program, National Bank's in-branch fund raising efforts have been put to use to relieve urgent humanitarian needs and support on-the-ground operations of the Canadian Red Cross.

Our reports from previous years are available for reference purposes only. As the information they contain has not been updated since their publication, they no longer necessarily reflect the current activities or commitments of the Bank, and the methodology used for the calculation and disclosure of certain data may have evolved over time. National Bank does not plan to update this information, except as required by law, and therefore recommends that readers not place undue reliance on it.

Certain information contained in this section relates to the Bank's targets and commitments in terms of sustainable development, environment, social progress and governance, and the measures it will take to achieve them, including its targets and its climate strategy and its efforts towards the transition to a low-carbon economy, as well as how to support its clients in this transition.

The Bank cautions readers that these are not guarantees of future performance, as such information is based on our current expectations, estimates and intentions and is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Bank’s control and the effects of which are difficult to predict. These factors, risks and uncertainties are described in more detail in the Report on Environmental, Social and Governance Advances, in the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Notebook, in the Climate Report and in the Annual Report, all available on bnc.ca.

1. Reference year: 2019. This science-based and absolute target aims to help limit global warming to 1.5°C. It includes Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions (Scope 3 includes employee business travel and paper consumption as part of the supply chain). The Bank relies on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative (GHG Protocol) methodology. For more details, see the most recent Climate Report.

2. National Bank joined the United Nations Net-Zero Banking Alliance in 2021, which supports banks' efforts to combat climate change by aligning financing activities with the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. The Bank uses the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) Standard to calculate its financed emissions from its financing and investment activities. For more details, see the most recent Climate Report.