Canada's
Challenger Bank™ to Disclose Financed
Emissions
TORONTO, Nov. 15, 2021 /CNW/ - Equitable Group Inc. (TSX:
EQB) (TSX: EQB.PR.C) ("Equitable" or the "Bank") today became the
first Schedule I Canadian Bank to quantify its entire Scope 3
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions portfolio, reflecting its
commitments to sustainability and transparency.
"We are thrilled to continue the momentum from our recent
announcement of the Bank's carbon neutrality and the informative
developments resulting from the UN Climate Change Conference
(COP26) with the disclosure of our
entire Scope 3 emissions, including financed emissions," said
Andrew Moor, President and Chief
Executive Officer. "We believe that what gets measured gets managed
and are committed to exploring Challenger ways to reduce our carbon
footprint."
Scope 3 Emissions: A Canadian Banking First
Equitable
is the first Schedule I Bank in Canada to fully disclose its Scope 3 GHG
emissions portfolio, arising from its own operations as well as
from its $35.4 billion lending
portfolio. This significant accomplishment was enabled by the
Bank's sophisticated data management systems and comprehensive
understanding of customers' business activities. Scope 3
calculations captured activities such as business travel, purchased
goods and services, capital goods, waste generated in operations,
and employee commuting, as well as emissions from Equitable's
vehicle, mortgage, and commercial real estate financing
activities.
Scope 3
Category1
|
2020 GHG Emissions
(tCO2e)
|
Category 1: Purchased
Goods and Services2
|
6,874
|
Category 2: Capital
Goods2
|
204
|
Category 3: Fuel and
Energy-Related
Activities
|
104
|
Category 5: Waste in
Operations3
|
8
|
Category 6: Business
Travel2
|
326
|
Category 7: Employee
Commuting4
|
461
|
Category 15:
Investment Emissions (i.e., Financed
Emissions)5
|
531,734
|
Total Scope 3
emissions
|
539,711
|
This first quantification of Scope 3 emissions revealed that
most of the Bank's Scope 3 emissions arise from its mortgage
lending portfolio. These results have provided the Bank with
meaningful insights into its Scope 3 emissions, have underscored
the need for better data availability across the industry, and have
ignited internal conversations on what reductions might be achieved
in Scope 3 emissions.
Because Equitable operates all digital infrastructure on
Microsoft Azure, its operations are more efficient and achieve
greater energy and emissions reductions in comparison to banks that
rely on traditional on-premise server farms. According to
The Carbon Benefits of Cloud Computing: A Study on the Microsoft
Cloud conducted by Microsoft Corporation and WSP, the Microsoft
cloud is up to 93 percent more energy-efficient and can result
in 98 percent lower carbon emissions than traditional enterprise
data centers. Microsoft also recently announced a series
of significant new investments to incorporate sustainable
technologies into current and future datacenter design and
operations.
Methodology and Assurance
Equitable engaged WSP in
Canada to quantify the Bank's
Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions applying methodologies from the GHG
Protocol and the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials.
About Equitable
Equitable Group Inc. trades on the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C) and serves nearly
three hundred thousand Canadians through Equitable Bank,
Canada's Challenger Bank™.
Equitable Bank has grown to become the country's eighth largest
independent Schedule I bank with a clear mandate to drive real
change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. Founded
over 50 years ago, Equitable Bank provides diversified personal and
commercial banking and through its EQ Bank platform (eqbank.ca) has
been named #1 Bank in Canada on
the Forbes World's Best Banks 2021 list. Please visit
equitablebank.ca for details.
About WSP
As one of the world's leading professional
services firms, WSP provides engineering and design services to
clients in the Transportation & Infrastructure, Property &
Buildings, Environment, Power & Energy, Resources and Industry
sectors, as well as offering strategic advisory services.
WSP's global experts include engineers, advisors, technicians,
scientists, architects, planners, surveyors and environmental
specialists, as well as other design, program and construction
management professionals. Our talented people are well
positioned to deliver successful and sustainable projects, wherever
our clients need us. wsp.com/en-CA
[1] Scope 3 categories not included were not
applicable or relevant to the bank's operations.
[2] Emissions estimated using spend data and the US
EPA EEIO database.
[3] Emissions estimated using a 2019 waste survey for
the bank's Toronto office.
Average amount of waste generated per employee was applied to
all other office locations.
[4] Passenger kilometers estimated per office based
on employee home address (city). Mode of travel was assumed
based on city-specific data for office locations.
[5] Vehicle lending: emissions were estimated using
motor vehicle type with distance travelled assumed based on
regional statistical data. Mortgage and commercial real
estate lending: Emissions were estimated based on number of
buildings, building type and location-specific average energy
consumption. Business lending: very small proportion of
financed emissions, estimated using economic activity-based
emissions and company revenue. Emissions associated with
lending for construction of commercial real estate are excluded
from the inventory as they are currently optional for reporting
under the PCAF standard.
SOURCE Equitable Bank