Export Development Canada (EDC) is proud to be the first export credit agency to announce its support of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Established by the Financial Stability Board, the TCFD developed voluntary recommendations on climate-related information that companies should disclose to help investors, lenders, and others make sound financial decisions.
EDC’s support means it is making a commitment to work toward the implementation of the TCFD’s recommendations, joining Canadian commercial banks, a number of Canadian pension funds and large companies in helping to advance the availability, consistency, and comparability of climate-related information.
“Supporting business decisions that ensure we are taking care of our environment has been a large part of EDC’s commitment to sustainable and responsible business for a long time,” said Catherine Decarie, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Secretary at EDC. “We believe the TCFD recommendations provide a helpful framework which will inform our strategic planning, policy development, and risk assessment processes now and into the future. We also believe that the most important contribution we can make is through ongoing engagement with our customers, across the spectrum, as companies innovate to respond to the impacts of climate change.”
EDC will include its first climate-related financial disclosure in the 2018 Annual Report, as well as develop a roadmap for implementing the TCFD recommendations.
For EDC, like many others, this is a journey that will evolve over time as organizations, investors, and others contribute to the quality and consistency of the information disclosed.
Fast facts:
- In 2017, EDC partnered with 224 Canadian cleantech companies, facilitating $1.5 billion in cleantech exports.
- In 2017, EDC supported $278 million in climate finance transactions in developing countries which contributes to the government of Canada’s UN Framework Convention on Climate Change commitments.
- EDC developed its first-ever position on coal-fired power plants in January 2017
- Our Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM) Framework guides all of our business and is further underpinned by various international agreements and standards, including:
- OECD Recommendation on Common Approaches on Environment
- Equator Principles
- IFC Performance Standards
- EDC is undertaking a review of its Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM) framework, which involves engaging stakeholders from across the Canadian trade and business ecosystems. These policies will be updated based on feedback received and made public. The policies under review are:
- Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM)
- Policy Climate Change policy
- Environmental and Social Review Directive (ERD)
- Human Rights Statement Disclosure Policy
