Translations

DESJARDINS integrates environmental actions into its business

4. Environment

Biodiversity and sustainable resource management

Sector Finance / Bank / Insurance

Year 2010

Country Canada

Transmitter

Context

Desjardins Group is the largest cooperative financial group in Canada and the sixth largest in the world. They offer a full range of financial products and services to its 5.8 million members and clients. Desjardins specializes in Wealth Management and Life and Health Insurance, in Property and Casualty Insurance, in Personal Services, as well as in Business and Institutional Services. Desjardins Funds has had socially responsible investing as a priority since 1990, when the Desjardins Environment Fund was launched. In January 2009, SocieTerra Portfolios were released, and more recently, Desjardins Funds signed on to the Principles for Responsible Investment, an initiative led by the United Nations. Over the past few years, Desjardins has worked hard to improve its biodiversity and sustainable development commitments.

Objectives

- To protect the environment by supporting local organic agriculture, employee actions to reduce CO2 emissions, eco-loans and offsetting programs.

APPROACH

Desjardins is committed to encouraging agriculture which is supported by communities. Supporting local organic agriculture has many positive effects: it protects biodiversity by reducing the amount of pesticides used on the agricultural territory as well as reduces greenhouse gases through local buying actions.

Desjardins is also fighting against climate change by integrating new measures to reduce gas consumption such as purchasing more eco-friendly vehicles and offering commuting alternatives to employees.

The launch of their new eco-loan is reserved for companies which wish to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by using less polluting energy sources. Their other clients also have the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint by converting their Bonidollars to Planetair offsetting programs.

The Desjardins Foundation is largely committed to protecting agricultural biodiversity. Rivers have been cleaned up and trees have been planted along rivers. In collaboration with the Saint-Laurent Corporation, Desjardins planted hundreds of thousands of trees in different regions of Quebec and Ontario: 70 KM of rivers cleaned up. Trees planted along 157 KM of rivers as well as 140,000 more trees planted in the Quebec and Ontario region.

For their internal and communications activities they only use 100% recycled paper coming from the Cascades Company.