Royal Bank of Canada is among 68 companies and one of only 15 financial institutions worldwide named to the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index 2007.

The index lists companies that are leaders at understanding and managing the financial risks and opportunities resulting from climate change. Among financial institutions, RBC was ranked first in Canada, second in North America and tied for fifth place globally.

The ranking was carried out by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors as part of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an initiative sponsored by a coalition of 315 institutional investors and asset managers representing $41 trillion in assets under management. These investors believe they can make better investment decisions by assessing the degree to which large companies are exposed to climate change risks, and how they are managing them. In 2007, RBC Asset Management became a member of the coalition and signatory to the CDP request.

“RBC has set itself apart from its peers by disclosing the information required by investors to judge its readiness for the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change,” said CDP chief executive, Paul Dickinson, in a release.

Since 2002, the CDP has sent out annual information requests to the largest companies in the world measured by market capitalization. In 2007, the request was sent to 2,400 companies worldwide.

Each company was judged on its governance and strategy with respect to managing climate change issues, as well as its ability to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and its capability to quantify both the competitive and financial costs and benefits of these actions. In the banking sector, climate change risks (or carbon risks) can include credit risk management procedures for carbon constrained sectors such as energy and natural resource clients and carbon management of lending portfolios.