National Bank of Canada

The responsibility for sustainability issues within National Bank of Canada lies with the highest governing body. It also links the remuneration of its executive team to sustainability performance criteria. In terms of its approach towards impact management, the bank acknowledges that its financing activities have both positive and negative impacts. National Bank of Canada publicly commits to gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as has gender-balanced representation among its senior leadership roles where 44% are women.

National Bank of Canada discloses absolute financed emissions as well as the underlying data quality and coverage of its financed emissions. As a member of Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, the bank has set a target of net-zero financed emissions by 2050. Regarding climate solutions, National Bank of Canada discloses its Sustainability Bonds outstanding are CAD 3.1 billion and that CAD 1.6 billion has been allocated towards renewable energy.

National Bank of Canada has publicly available policy statements committing it to respect human rights and the health and safety of workers. The bank has a grievance mechanism accessible to all workers, external individuals and communities to raise human rights complaints or bribery and corruption concerns. The bank discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. It also specifies that it does not make political contributions. Regarding diversity, National Bank of Canada discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by age group, gender, and race or ethnicity, as well as by disability in management and senior management roles.

There is no evidence that National Bank of Canada links the remuneration of its management team to sustainability performance criteria. In terms of female representation in leadership positions, women are underrepresented on the board of directors where only five out of 14 board members are women. Moreover, the bank could disclose the ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category. National Bank of Canada also has an opportunity to describe its engagement approach on sustainability themes and impact topics with clients and investees.

While National Bank of Canada discloses interim emissions reduction targets, these are only intensity targets and not absolute targets. The bank has an opportunity to disclose the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the alignment with the Paris Agreement. It could also align its renewable energy financing with internationally recognised frameworks. No evidence was found regarding National Bank of Canada’s approach to fossil fuels that spans across the fossil fuel value chain or its stance on financing companies with new fossil fuel projects. Moreover, there is no evidence that the bank is committed to minimising the negative impacts it has on nature and biodiversity.

There is no evidence that National Bank of Canada describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts through its relevant financing activities. It could also disclose the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, the bank has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards, for example, women-owned businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or low-income developing countries.