Our Commitments

Our Environmental Policy applies to all of our global business lines and corporate support functions. It includes principles and promises committing TD to:

• Manage all aspects of our business to promote environmental responsibility;
• Ensure employees are aware of our policy and strive to implement it daily, while encouraging them to identify ways to support continuous improvement of our environmental performance;
• Build relationships with suppliers who have procedures in place to manage and comply with environmental laws or risks applicable to their businesses;
• Regularly review and update environmental standards and procedures;
• Engage in dialogues with our government, business and community stakeholders in support of responsible environmental management and accountability;
• Incorporate environmental risk and opportunity assessment into our credit and lending policies;
• Encourage and support local, community-based environmental activities through the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation; and
• Manage our environmental footprint.

Our Environmental Management Framework, developed in 2007, identifies four areas of focus: climate change, forest biodiversity, Aboriginal people and our operations.

In order to complement and enhance our Environmental Management Framework, we have recently revised our risk management framework to incorporate consideration of environmental risks and benefits into our lending and investing practices. See the section on Responsible Financing.

Climate change is an environmental issue that has important global social and economic consequences. Some of the changes we anticipate as a result of climate change include:

• Adapting our infrastructure to new temperature and precipitation regimes;
• Learning to live in a carbon-constrained world; and
• Developing innovative technologies and solutions aimed at energy conservation.

TD is working actively to understand developments in this rapidly evolving area. In 2008, we were the first major Canadian bank to commit our Canadian operations to being carbon-neutral in 2010. In early 2009, we set a goal and created a program in relation to emissions from our U.S. operations. Learn more in the Reducing Our Operational Footprint section.

We are also participating in the public policy discussions about developing regulations in Canada, the United States and the world. In 2008, working in co-operation with the Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation, we sponsored the preparation of an economic analysis of the impacts of regulation of greenhouse gases in Canada. Learn more in the Public Policy and Environmental Dialogue section.

The Canadian boreal forest (“the boreal”) is a unique and vital part of the national landscape, economy and cultural heritage of Canada. TD supports the efforts of our clients and other stakeholders in protecting the ecological integrity of the boreal.

In 2008, TD worked closely with the Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) to support the Boreal Information Centre. The CBI is a leading Canadian organization that brings together industry, environmental and Aboriginal interests around sustainable development solutions in Canada’s boreal region. Learn more in the Public Policy and Dialogue section.

As a large North American service company, our direct environmental impact relates to our operational real estate “footprint” — the energy, resources, paper and supplies we consume, as well as our travel. In 2008, with the goal of minimizing this footprint, we launched our carbon neutrality commitment. As part of this plan, we have promised to reduce our carbon emissions through energy reduction initiatives at our facilities and also through the purchasing of “green energy” from renewable sources. We also continued our waste reduction, recycling and green procurement programs. Learn more in the Reducing Our Operational Footprint section.

We recognize that the health, prosperity, identities and cultures of many Aboriginal communities in Canada and elsewhere in the world are intricately tied to the well-being of the environment, in particular, to the lands on which Aboriginals live and the natural resources upon which they depend.

As a part of TD Securities’ due diligence process when examining lending clients, we always consider environmental and social factors. One part of our risk assessment is to determine whether the project or business being discussed affects Aboriginal communities in regards to land claims and/or treaty obligations. If problems are seen to exist, we work with these clients to help address and prevent any issues from arising. In addition, as part of our ongoing participation in various public policy forums and through our community investments, TD will continue to support social and economic development initiatives for Canada’s Aboriginal communities.