RBC Financial Group has released its 2006 corporate responsibility report.

This report contains an overview of RBC’s economic impact, business and workplace practices, as well as its impact on society and the environment.

To better respond to diverse readers and stakeholders, and to minimize the environmental impact of producing a paper-based report, RBC migrated most of its reporting about corporate responsibility to its Web site in 2006, with the print report intended to be an annual summary of its activities.

For the first time, RBC’s Corporate Responsibility Report, Annual Report to Shareholders and Management Proxy Circular are all “carbon neutral.” RBC worked with Zerofootprint Offsets, a third-party vendor, to determine the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the production and transport of its reports. Then RBC offset its emissions by investing in a reforestation project in a Canadian community through Zerofootprint. These carbon-neutralizing offsets are guaranteed ISO 14064-2 certified, a world standard in greenhouse gas emission accounting.

In 2006, RBC’s leadership in sustainability was recognized by a number of organizations and indices. The company is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the Jantzi Social Index and the FTSE4Good Index, all of which recognize financial, social and environmental leaders. Early in 2007, RBC was named to a list of the “Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World.”

The report is available in three editions – global, Canadian English, and Canadian French – in recognition of the company’s diverse operations. The Canadian editions contain RBC’s annual Public Accountability Statement as required by Canada’s financial services legislation. The 2006 report is available online at rbc.com, in print through RBC Royal Bank branches and in audio format by special request.