Bank of Nova Scotia was recognized as a Carbon Disclosure Leader among Canadian companies providing investor transparency on climate change risks, opportunities and strategies, the bank announced Wednesday.

CIBC and Royal Bank of Canada were also recognized as Carbon Disclosure leaders.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) — an independent not-for-profit organization founded in 2000 — recognized Scotiabank as a leader among low-carbon impact sector companies in Canada.

“The Carbon Disclosure Project has not only improved transparency around the potential corporate risks and opportunities that climate change presents, but also around the business strategies developed to manage them,” said Barb Mason, executive vp, wealth management, Scotiabank, in a release. “Investors are increasingly assessing this information when making investment decisions, especially in the longer term.”

CDP is the largest investor coalition in the world, including more than 385 institutional investors – including 40 from Canada — with a combined $57 trillion in assets under management.

CDP’s sixth-annual request for information in 2008 received a record 1,550 responses from more than 3,000 companies worldwide. About 55% of 200 Canadian companies surveyed responded. The information requests cover four areas: management views on the risks and opportunities of climate change; accounting of greenhouse gas emissions; strategies to reduce emissions, minimize risk, or capitalize on opportunities; and corporate governance of climate change issues.

“Climate Disclosure Leaders generally demonstrated heightened awareness of the climate change risks and opportunities facing their companies and provided detail on the potential financial implications of climate change risks and opportunities and the timing of the associated activities,” according to a CDP report prepared by The Conference Board of Canada. “Compared with other low-carbon impact sectors, companies in the banking sector provided the highest quality of disclosure to the CDP.”

IE