At BMO we take every opportunity to “Grow the Good” and to help build a more sustainable world. On April 17, our 4th annual Trees from Trades program will see BMO Capital Markets donate a portion of Global Markets revenue from trades to fund the planting of trees for Earth Month.

The Trees from Trades program demonstrates BMO’s ongoing commitment to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions and working toward a net zero carbon footprint.

We’ve raised enough funds in the first three years of the program to plant over 375,000 trees.

We’re excited to share that we’ll be working along side our BMO Climate Institute to identify areas in North America that could benefit the most from tree planting. Learn more about the BMO Climate Institute in our annual Climate Report.  

Learn more about the impact 375,000 trees has made.

Planting trees is a nature-based solution to reducing the impact of greenhouse gas emissions that also helps create jobs, reduce food insecurity, reforest land and recharge local ecosystems. We are already seeing the impact of our efforts.

Carbon sequestering

94,737 tonnes of CO2 to be sequestered, compares to removing 20,595 cars from the road for one year

Restoration of ecosystems and providing local employment

The BMO Trees from Trades program currently contributes to several projects in North America, Africa and South-East Asia, that include wildfire restoration, sustainable agroforestry and mangrove restoration. Mangrove forests are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems in the tropics. In fact, scientific studies have shown that the average annual carbon sequestration rate for mangrove is approximately two to four times greater than the global average annual carbon sequestration rate for mature tropical forests. Protecting and restoring these forests is key to mitigating climate change. 

 

Reviving degraded agricultural land

Decades of unsustainable farming practices in Senegal, such as rapid commercialization of peanut cultivation, transformed the once-thriving area into heavily degraded land with little soil nutrients left. Creation of ‘forest gardens’ support the restoration of this land, with an end goal to provide reliable, diverse crops that can be harvested every month of the year for steady and varied diets with extra produce being sold at local markets.

 

We thank our clients for helping build a better tomorrow.

Learn more about our commitment to a sustainable future in our 2023 Sustainability Report or tune in to BMO Sustainability Leaders podcast.