This decade is vital for achieving the ambition of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and ultimately creating a better future for us all. Investors have a key role to play – it’s not enough to say we intend to support sustainable development, we need to monitor and measure the impact our investments have. That means working with our investee companies to encourage better disclosure of impact metrics.
We publish impact reports annually for our growing range of sustainability strategies, using the SDGs as a key reference point to measure the impact of our investment decisions. Each report can be found below.
This decade is vital for achieving the ambition of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Investors have a key role to play – it’s not enough to say we intend to support sustainable development, we need to monitor and measure the impact our investments have.
Below you can find the impact reports which we publish annually for our range of sustainability strategies. We use the SDGs as a key reference point to measure the impact of our investment decisions.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a key reference point for measuring impact. There are 17 goals and 169 associated targets, providing a useful tool for companies and investors to be able to contribute to achieving a more sustainable future by 2030. The framework has created a common language between stakeholders.
The UN SDGs are a key reference point for measuring impact. There are 17 goals and 169 associated targets.
As pioneers in responsible investment, at BMO, we use the SDGs as a framework for engaging for positive change. In 2020, 79% of our engagement was linked to SDGs. We positively contributed to 10 of the 17 SDGs.
In 2020, 79% of our engagement was linked to SDGs. We positively contributed to 10 of the 17 SDGs.
Click below to discover how our engagement with companies in 2020 linked to the different goals and targets.
In 2020, 5% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 1
In 2020, 3% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 3
In 2020, 8% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 5
In 2020, 2% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 6
In 2020, 5% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 7
In 2020, 19% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 8
In 2020, 12% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 12
In 2020, 16% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 13
In 2020, 2% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 15
In 2020, 3% of our engagement linked to SDG goal 16
2. Zero Hunger, 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, 10. Reduced Inequalities, 11.Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14. Life Below Water
21% of our engagement does not have a direct link to a specific SDG target. The majority of these engagement activities are on corporate governance, which we view as an essential building block in creating more sustainable, better run companies. The main exception is our engagement on board diversity, much of which has covered gender diversity issues, which we see as supportive of SDG 5 and targets 5.1 and 5.5 in particular, but has a wider application to the achievement of other goals such as SDG 8 and SDG 10.
Read our Responsible Investment 2020 Review
Read our impact reports for more information on how each fund has contributed to positively engaging with companies on a global scale.
Each impact report includes:
Our impact reports provide information on how each fund has contributed to positively engaging with companies on a global scale.
In 2020, we engaged with 107 companies held in the funds resulting in 59 milestones. Key topics included engagement on labour standards, corporate governance and climate change.
In 2020, we voted at 90 meetings and engaged with 107 companies held in the funds, resulting in 59 milestones. Key topics included engagement on labour standards, corporate governance and climate change.
In 2020 we engaged with 46 companies held in the fund, with the aim of improving their management of environmental, social and governance issues.
Examples of companies linked to SDG 3 include Clinigen, which facilitates access to new medicines across over 100 countries worldwide, and surgical device firm Smith & Nephew
Companies providing innovative solutions aligned with SDG 9 include Johnson Matthey, which provides technologies that reduce air pollution, and Polypipe, whose products include components for plumbing and sanitation
In 2020, we engaged with 46 companies held in the fund, voted at 82 meetings and achieved 31 milestones. The top SDGs we aligned to were: SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being and SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
In 2020 we engaged with 64 companies held in the fund and achieved 37 milestones
In 2020 we voted at 72 meetings, engaged with 64 companies held in the fund and achieved 37 milestones. The top SDGs we aligned to were: SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
In 2020, we engaged with 87% of the companies held in the strategy, with the aim of improving their management of material ESG issues.
In 2020, we engaged with 87% of the companies held in the strategy with the aim of improving their management of material ESG issues. We voted at 64 meetings and 61% of our activity positively aligned to the SDGs with only 7.5% negatively aligned.
In 2020, we engaged with 33 companies held in the strategy with the aim of improving their management of ESG issues.
In 2020, we engaged with 33 companies held in the strategy and recorded 21 milestones. 83.7% of activities positively aligned to the SDGs with only 1.8% negatively aligned. Our top engagement aligned to SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being and SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth.
In 2020 we engaged with 50 companies held in the fund, with the aim of improving their management of environmental, social and governance issues.
In 2019 we engaged with 35 companies across 13 countries held in the fund, with the aim of improving their management of environmental, social and governance issues. Top engagement aligned to SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth and SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
In 2019 we engaged with 32 companies held in the fund, with the aim of improving their management of environmental, social and governance issues.
In 2019, we voted at 47 meetings and engaged with 32 companies held in the fund. 88% of our activity aligned to the SDGs and the most frequent topic for engagement was around labour standards, which supports SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth.
In 2019, we engaged with 96% of companies within our fund’s portfolio across 18 countries, totalling 151 engagements.
In 2019, we engaged with 96% of companies within our fund’s portfolio across 18 countries, totalling 151 engagements. Top engagement aligned to: SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation and SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being.
In 2020 we engaged with 19 companies held in the fund, with the aim of improving their management of environmental, social and governance issues.
In 2020 we engaged with 19 companies held in the fund, with the aim of improving their management of environmental, social and governance issues. We voted at 35 meetings, achieved 14 milestones and 82% of activities positively aligned with the SDGs. Key topics included engagement on: SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being and SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth.
All of our funds involve a level of risk and the value of your investments can go down as well as up. The level of risk will depend upon the underlying investments in those funds. You need to be comfortable that you may not get back the original amount invested. Past performance should not be seen as an indication of future performance.
BMO Global Asset Management’s voting, engagement and public policy work is conducted independently of the wider BMO Financial Group. Positions taken by BMO Global Asset Management may not be representative of the views of the BMO Financial Group as a whole or of the other lines of business within it.
Discover the companies we believe are driving increased resource efficiency, from food production and transportation to access to water.
Discover what progress on corporate governance is being made in Asia.
Learn directly from three companies about what good ESG engagement looks like.
Responsible investment involves a host of associated language and jargon. Let us help with some of the most commonly used terms.
Our quarterly stewardship report outlines our latest engagement and voting activity, measuring our impact through our alignment with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
