InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
David Jacobson is on the board of the US Chamber.
David Jacobson (Vice Chairman, BMO Financial Group)
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
BMO was a member of the US Chamber in 2021. This does no longer appear to be the case in 2022.
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
David Jacobson is on the board of the US Chamber.
David Jacobson (Vice Chairman, BMO Financial Group)
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
BMO was a member of the US Chamber in 2021. This does no longer appear to be the case in 2022.
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
BMO Global Asset Management is a member of the Investment Association (last checked September 2023)
not specified
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
BMO Global Asset Management is a member of the Investment Association (last checked September 2023)
not specified
--no extract--
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Open PDF file of Data Source
Sustainable Finance Lobbying Overview: Bank of Montreal (BMO) appears to mostly have engaged on sustainability-related corporate disclosures, with limited but very positive engagement. Most engagement activities appear to be carried out by subsidiary asset management arm: BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM).
Top-line Messaging on Sustainable Finance Policy: Both BMO and BMO Asset Management have advocated for action to achieve zero-carbon economies by 2050 and to keep temperature rise to 1.5C. BMO GAM has further advocated for this ambition in joint investor statements to governments in 2022 and 2021. BMO GAM also advocated for a post-2020 global biodiversity framework that mandates the alignment of financial flows with biodiversity goals in a financial institution statement in 2021. BMO stated that it is co-chairing Canada’s Sustainable Finance Action Council during 2022 and that it has supported the development of recommendations for mobilizing capital flows to support the transition to net-zero, however, it has not clearly specified whether it supports regulatory action.
Position on Sustainable Finance Policy: BMO GAM advocated for policymakers to mandate 1.5C pathway-aligned transition plans and TCFD-aligned disclosures in investor statements in 2021 and 2022. In response to the Canadian Securities Administrators in 2022, BMO GAM supported proposals for climate change-related disclosures and advocated for increased ambition, such as including Scope 3 emissions. BMO GAM has also supported increasing the ambition of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)’s proposed Sustainability Disclosure Standards, suggesting double materiality in place of the enterprise value approach, and to require disclosures on governance processes and procedures, strategy and related metrics and targets. BMO GAM also strongly opposed a number of rules proposed under the Trump administration that would limit ESG investing. In 2020, in response to the SEC, BMO GAM opposed the SEC’s proposal that would limit shareholder rights, including rules for proxy advisers and the increase of the threshold for filling shareholder proposals. Also in 2020, it opposed the Department of Labor (DOL)’s proposals limiting the integration of ESG characteristics and the use of proxy voting by fiduciaries in ERISA pension plans. In 2021, BMO GAM jointly submitted a comment with the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance to the DOL, supporting regulation that would permit the use of ESG factors in fiduciaries' decision-making, including rule language that includes explicit ESG examples.
Lobbying Transparency: BMO and BMO GAM have disclosed a number of examples of its engagement with sustainable finance policy in its sustainability reporting. BMO has also listed membership of trade associations and details of involvement on sustainable finance relevant committees but has not given details on the sustainable finance policy positions of these organizations.