TD Launches $500 Billion Sustainable & Decarbonization Finance Target
TD Bank Group announced a series of new ESG and sustainable finance-focused measures today, including a goal to facilitate CAD$500 billion (USD$364 billion) in sustainable and decarbonization finance by 2030.
The new ambition was unveiled with the release of the bank’s 2022 ESG reporting suite, which also included an expansion of TD’s financed emission reduction targets, and the establishment of a new economic inclusion-focused social framework.
TD’s new sustainable finance goal follows the bank’s prior target, set in 2017, to deploy $100 billion by 2030 toward low-carbon lending, financing, asset management and internal corporate programs. According to the bank’s ESG report, the company reached its target in 2022, eight years ahead of schedule.
For the new goal, TD said that it aims to mobilize $500 billion through financial activities including lending, financing, underwriting, advisory services, insurance, and the bank’s own investments, and TD also released a Sustainable & Decarbonization Finance Target Methodology, outlining eligible environmental, decarbonization and social activities to be included in the target. The bank said that it will report annually on its progress towards the goal.
Janice Farrell Jones, SVP of Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship, TD Bank Group, said:
“Mobilizing sustainable finance is a valuable business opportunity as well as a critical part of our work towards our target of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with our operations and financing activities by 2050.”
In addition to the new sustainable finance target, TD also expanded the range of sectors covered by its 2030 interim financed emissions reduction goals, adding goals for the Automotive Manufacturing and Aviation sectors to the Energy and Power sector targets established last year. TD’s new 2030 goals include a 50% “Tank to Wheel” emissions intensity reduction for automotive manufacturing, and an 8% intensity reduction for Scope 1 for airlines and Scope 3 for aircraft lessors, all on a 2019 baseline.
The ESG report also establishes a new social-focused framework, “TD Pathways to Economic Inclusion,” aimed at focusing the bank’s efforts to embed social factors into its business, with a focus on key areas including employment access, financial access, and housing access.
Farrell Jones added:
“We have a critical role to play across the economy and society as a financial institution, business, corporate citizen and employer. Our 2022 ESG Reporting Suite sets out how TD is helping to address the challenges associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy and how we are working to contribute to a more inclusive society for the communities in which we operate.”