Bank of Montreal | Disclose client climate transition status and plan at Bank of Montreal

Status
Withdrawn
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
BMO:CN
Lead filer
Æquo Shareholder Engagement Services inc.
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Environment
ESG sub-theme
  • Climate change
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Financials
Company HQ country
Canada
Resolved clause
Shareholders request that BMO disclose: 1) the criteria used to assess client’s transition readiness, 2) a summary of the results of this assessment by sector and 3) examples of actions taken to engage with clients that have not yet adopted climate transition plans. This disclosure should omit confidential information and be prepared at reasonable cost.
Supporting statement
Excerpts from the supporting statement: Credible transition plans are a strategic tool that can help businesses improve their preparedness for climate disruption and, as a result, improve their long-term competitiveness. In 2024, BMO introduced a Client Transition Action Readiness Assessment to guide engagement with clients in their transition planning. Each client is assigned a category indicating their readiness for the climate transition– early, moderate or advanced– based on the maturity of the climate-related practices, transparency, disclosures, planning and climate-risk awareness. BMO discloses general information on components of the assessment (BMO 2023 Climate Report) but provides limited disclosure of the criteria to assign plans to each category. Peers such as RBC, Scotia and TD provide such disclosure, allowing investors to have a sense of the methodology used to assess transition plans.

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