• BMO is the first North American bank to buy carbon credits generated through CarbonCure’s unique engineered carbon removal solutions
• BMO continues to innovate to meet its net-zero goals with an agreement to reduce and remove 5,750 metric tons of carbon dioxide

BMO Financial Group announced it has committed to purchase carbon credits over five years, representing 5,750 metric tons of carbon dioxide removal and reductions, via an agreement with Halifax-based CarbonCure Technologies, a climate tech company supporting the decarbonization of the global concrete industry. The credits are expected to be delivered every September from 2022 to 2026. Carbon neutral since 2010, BMO is the first North American bank to purchase CarbonCure carbon credits and the first purchaser of carbon credits supporting CarbonCure’s full suite of carbon mineralization technologies, delivering permanent storage of CO₂ across the concrete manufacturing process.

This announcement builds on BMO’s purchase last year of Direct Air Capture carbon removals using Carbon Engineering technology from Canada’s Carbon Engineering. Carbon removal projects, including engineered solutions that store carbon for over 100 years, are part of BMO’s strategy to diversify its offset portfolio to meet its net zero goals by 2050.

“As part of our Climate Ambition and our Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is focused on how we can support innovation through our carbon neutrality program. To achieve net zero, we will need a lot of innovation and new technologies, including the solutions being developed by CarbonCure,” said Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer, BMO Financial Group. “Since 2010, BMO has been carbon neutral in its own operations through a combination of reducing energy use, purchasing renewable energy certificates to match 100 per cent of our electricity use. and offsetting remaining emissions. Our agreement with CarbonCure is an exciting opportunity for BMO to support new technology that will advance net zero aligned innovation in the decades ahead.”

“We’re excited to embark on this agreement with BMO,” said Robert Niven, Chair and CEO of CarbonCure Technologies. “BMO’s first-of-its-kind commitment to purchase carbon credits supporting the full suite of our technologies represents the kind of investment that is vital to tackling the climate crisis. We need to leverage every tool in our toolbox and bring innovations to scale quickly. CarbonCure’s technologies have reduced and removed more than 210,000 metric tons of CO₂ to date; with BMO’s valuable support, we look forward to accelerating even faster our global growth and impact.”

See related article: BMO and Concordia University Partner with Innovative Sustainability-Linked Loan

CarbonCure’s systems inject captured CO₂ into ready mix concrete, reclaimed plant water and recycled concrete aggregates where the CO₂ is safely and permanently stored. The added benefit of carbon mineralization in concrete manufacturing is that it also enables reductions in the use of carbon-intensive cement, fresh water sources and virgin aggregate materials. Upon injection, the CO₂ immediately converts into rock-like nanoparticles that become embedded in these materials for millennia. Even if CarbonCure concrete is later demolished, the mineralized CO₂ will never return to the atmosphere.

In 2021, a CarbonCure methodology for calculating carbon credits was verified by Verra, the world’s most widely used voluntary greenhouse gas crediting program. In most cases, CarbonCure can measure and track the CO₂ from point of capture through to mineralization, which provides credit buyers with precise information related to the deployment date and location of the CO₂ they paid to remove.

BMO announced its Climate Ambition in March 2021, including the launch of the BMO Climate Institute, with a focus on being their clients’ lead partner in the transition to a net-zero world. This goal built on a previous commitment to mobilize $300 billion in sustainable lending and underwriting to companies pursuing sustainable outcomes by 2025. In 2021 BMO established a dedicated Energy Transition Group, to support clients’ pursuit of opportunities driven by the increasing momentum of the global economy’s shift in production and consumption of energy.

BMO’s leadership on sustainability has been recognized on a number of global rankings, including the Corporate Knights’ Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, Dow Jones Sustainability Indices World Index, and Ethisphere Institute’s list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.

Source: Bank of Montreal