Bank of Montreal | Advisory vote on environmental policies at Bank of Montreal

Status
16.65% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
4
Resolution details
Company ticker
BMO:CN
Lead filer
Mouvement d'éducation et de défense des actionnaires (MÉDAC)
Resolution ask
Adopt or amend a policy
ESG theme
  • Environment
ESG sub-theme
  • Fossil fuel financing
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Financials
Company HQ country
Canada
Resolved clause
Be it proposed that the Bank adopt an annual advisory voting policy regarding its environmental and climate objectives and
action plan.
Supporting statement
We tabled this proposal at the 2022 annual meetings and it
received strong support from TD (25.4%), CIBC (22.7%), National
Bank (22%), Royal Bank (20.2%), Scotiabank (19.3%) and BMO
(15%). Furthermore, Laurentian Bank has agreed to implement a
non-binding advisory vote on the environment once it has
established the reference level for its funded emissions.
According to the most recent report published by Rainforest1, the
five major banks provided in excess of $131bn to oil companies in
2021, an increase compared to 2020:

Note that these five major banks have lent or underwritten nearly
$700bn to fossil fuel companies since the Paris Climate Agreement
was signed in December 2015.
One may question the extent to which they intend to fulfil their
commitment to join the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) launched
by former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney in 2015 and to
play a leading role in financing the climate transition to achieve net
zero emissions by 2050.
We therefore reiterate our proposal to implement a non-binding
advisory vote so that shareholders can express their satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with the Bank’s environmental policy

How other organisations have declared their voting intentions

Organisation name Declared voting intentions Rationale
Anima Sgr For Additional information on the company's plan to reduce its GHG emissions would allow investors to better understand how the company is managing its climate change related risks and it would allow shareholders to express their opinions on the climate risk management practices of the company.
Rathbones Group Plc For Rathbones will generally support shareholder resolutions making reasonable requests for increased transparency regarding ESG matters

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