Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Questions

1) FULL-SERVICE BUSINESS BANKING

We offer our business owner clients access to a full suite of financing and cash management solutions through in-person and digital channels. Business owners can streamline their financial management to focus on what matters most: growing their business. Our continuing investment in digital capabilities will enhance their experience even further

2) FULL-SERVICE PERSONAL BANKING

We offer our personal clients, who are often our business owner clients and their families, access to a full complement of banking services through in-person and digital channels. We just launched digital client onboarding for our personal clients.

3) SPECIALIZED FINANCING 

We offer our clients access to a differentiated, proactive client experience through highly personalized service, specialized expertise within specific industries, customized solutions and faster response times.

4) WEALTH MANAGEMENT

We offer our clients access to comprehensive wealth management approaches for their personal and business wealth. Discretionary wealth management, comprehensive financial planning and investment solutions are available through our boutique approach delivered within CWB Wealth Management and CWB branches.

3) TRUST SERVICES

We offer a wide variety of comprehensive trustee and custodial solutions for individuals and businesses.

See the “Enhanced Capabilities Provide Strong Platform for Growth” section in our Annual Report.

Our success is built from a strong foundation of our core values:

People First - Caring people are the key to our success. We work as a team and support one another. We always treat each other with respect and have the courage to be candid.

Relationships Get Results - Clients choose CWB for the best experience. We build relationships proactively, with intention and consistency. Our results depend on it.

Embrace the New - Change is everywhere. We seek out new ideas and are committed to continuous learning. We know that better is always possible.

The How Matters - How we do things is as important as what we do. We take ownership, and move with urgency and efficiency. We always act with integrity, and balance risk and reward.

Inclusion Has Power - Diverse teams unleash new ideas and perspectives. We are aware of our own biases. We are proud of who we are, and we are allies for those around us.

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Earning and maintaining trust is at the core of providing financial services. At CWB Financial Group, we understand this requires that we respect your privacy and protect the personal information you place in our care. Our Privacy Statement outlines the privacy management practices we have adopted to safeguard your personal information and to comply with Canadian privacy law. It is also our public statement describing how we collect, use and disclose personal information, and the choices you may exercise in this regard.

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Statement, our privacy practices, or if you would like to review your personal information, please contact your CWB Financial Group branch or office. Alternatively, you may write to CWB Financial Group’s Chief Privacy Officer at:

Chief Privacy Officer
CWB Financial Group
3000-10303 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 3X6

[email protected]

We are committed to treating all people, including our clients, employees and applicants, in a way that allows them to maintain their independence and dignity. Believing that inclusion has power, we strive to create an accessible environment for all, including people with disabilities. See our Multi-Year Accessibility Plan on our Accessibility webpage for more information.

We also offer accessible products at low-cost and accessible services through online banking. For more information on these products see the “Access to financial services” section in our Public Accountability Statement and the “Offering Accessible Services” in our Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

Our clients are at the heart of our value proposition. We take the long view and build relationships with business owners.  We are not everywhere, opening accounts for everyone.  We believe in helping our clients make informed choices and help them every step of the way. This belief and focus on our clients pervades all levels of the organization, as much a tone from leadership as it is the passion in the field.

We believe this has minimized our risk of selling unsuitable products to our clients or products with misleading information, or not taking reasonable account of consumer needs, goals or financial situations, or not explaining key terms and conditions.

More information on our approach can be found at our coercive-tied-selling webpage and within our Code of Conduct on page 22.

At CWB, we believe in our core value that Inclusion Has Power. We believe we reach our true potential by attracting top talent of all backgrounds and welcoming new ideas and perspectives. We have seen the impact that establishing representation targets can have to enhance the diversity of our organization and ensure we are stronger and more prepared for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow.

In 2020, our CEO, Chris Fowler, signed the BlackNorth CEO Pledge and we committed to have Black, Indigenous and racialized people comprise at least 5% of our Executive Committee by 2025. We have also committed to have 30% of the Executive Committed comprised of women.

In addition, the Board set new representation targets for itself. The Board aims to have Black, Indigenous and racialized people comprise at least 5% of the Board by 2025 and have women comprise at least 40%. Currently 42% of our director nominees are women.

In accordance with our Corporate Governance Policy, the GCR Committee considers a number of factors when seeking new directors for nomination, including each candidate’s skills, expertise, experience, integrity, independence, residency and geographic location and diversity criteria such as race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexuality, and abilities. Understanding that systemic biases exist broadly across society and our industry, the Board will consider the impact of biases on candidates to obtain specific qualifications or experiences in considering Board and Executive Committee candidates. See our Proxy Circular for our policies regarding Board and Executive Committee diversity.

The strength of our people is an essential part of our success, and we are committed to a culture that attracts and retains top talent.

We do this by proactively investing in our practices and programs to build a positive, rewarding and collaborative work environment where teams are empowered to deliver exceptional client experiences, and employees are celebrated for who they are. Our refreshed brand and values include a people-first approach to planning and execution, a focus on driving inclusion and diversity as key business advantages, and specific strategies to increase CWB’s brand awareness in the markets where we operate. We complement this with a specialized and knowledgeable approach to talent acquisition, a competitive total rewards offering with differentiated benefits, flexible work arrangements, comprehensive learning and development opportunities and a proactive focus on succession planning. When necessary, we embark on specific recruitment strategies to attract diverse candidates with diverse slate requirements for all leadership roles.

We measure employee engagement annually. In 2019, we began collaborating with Great Place to Work Canada^® using their Trust Index^© Employee Survey. According to Great Places to Work, people experience a great place to work when they consistently experience trust in the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and experience camaraderie with their colleagues. This year, with this new partnership, we have embarked on the creation of an ongoing employee listening, trust and engagement strategy that involves many ways to gauge and monitor employee satisfaction and trust.

We are pleased to report that in 2019, based on our employee feedback, we certified as a Great Place to Work Canada™, and one of the Best Workplaces™ in Alberta. 

In prior years, we participated in the Kencentric (formerly AON Hewitt) Best Employers in Canada Survey when measuring employee engagement.

To enhance the knowledge and operational skills of our employees, we are proud to offer a variety of in-house professional development programs and learning opportunities. Many of our learning resources are on our online Learning Centre, providing our people with the opportunity to increase their skillset and expertise through educational workshops, virtual sessions and learning materials. We have an Educational Assistance program where we reimburse employees up to 100% of eligible fees for job or career related courses. To support our internal pipeline of talent as well as individual career growth, we provide access to certified career coaches through our Career Design program.

See our Corporate Social Responsibility Report for more information.

We maintain an integrated and disciplined approach to risk management. In relation to financial crime risk, we govern, oversee and assess principles and procedures designed to help ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and internal risk parameters related to anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing and sanctions measures, and our compliance with anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws and regulations.

See our Annual Report pages 61-65 for information on our operational risk management.  Additional information related to anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, and anti-corruption is available on pages 21 and 23 in our Code of Conduct.

We recognize the importance of environmental and social risk management practices and processes. Governance is provided by the Board of Directors, who provide direct oversight to thoughtfully consider these risks as part of our enterprise-wide strategy.

To manage credit-related environmental risks, we evaluate potential risks as part of its credit granting process. If potential environmental risks are identified that cannot be resolved to our satisfaction, the application will be denied. To manage our environmental footprint, we have commenced development of various practices targeted to reduce the amount of energy consumed, increase materials recovered and recycled, and manage ecological maintenance products. Through sound environmental management, we follow acknowledged standards, adhere to applicable regulations, and operate our premises in a sustainable manner. Further detail is provided on pages 56 and 65 in our Annual Report.

We have identified that while our day-to-day operations do not have a material impact on the environment, we face certain environmental risks including the risk of loss if a borrower is unable to repay loans due to environmental clean up costs, and the risk of damage to our reputation resulting from the same. In order to manage these risks, and to help mitigate our overall impact on the environment, we evaluate potential environmental risks as part of the credit granting process. If potential environmental risks are identified that cannot be resolved to our satisfaction, the loan application will be denied. Where financing is provided, Internal Audit provides third line oversight to ensure all required processes and documentation are in place. Reports on environmental inspections and findings are provided quarterly to the Board Risk Committee. See the “Credit-related Environmental risk” section in our Annual Report for more information.

As a part of the Edmonton Climate Leadership Program, we measure our energy use for our operations in the Alberta Capital Region. We recognize that the highest energy outputs come from electricity, heat, and employee commuting. While we undertake energy reduction initiatives, and measure total GHG output, we currently do not measure specific energy use related to heat or electricity at any level of intensity.

Targets 

Baseline (TCO2e)¹ | Baseline Year | First Year | Reduction Target 2025 | Reduction Target 2035 | 
         5,876 2017 2019 15% 25%

CWB Annual Growth | Total to be reduced by 2025 | Total to be reduced by 2035
          10% 881.37 1,469.95

Performance

CWB’s fiscal 2019 emissions of 5,879 tCO2e¹ (Scope 1, 2 & 3) in the Alberta capital region are flat to our baseline year (fiscal 2017)

¹ TCO2e - Tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent

We commit to reduce our greenhouse gas release in the Alberta Capital Region by 15% by 2025, and 25% by 2035. Current reduction initiatives include:

• Bicycle parking for employees
• Retrofitting LED lighting
• Programmed paper reduction initiatives in print-capable devices
• Implementation of flexible work arrangements and telecommuting
• Buying energy efficient appliances and equipment

Reduction initiatives in the planning stage include: 

• Occupancy sensors
• Electric vehicle charging stations
• Regulated thermostat temperatures
• Subsidized public transit pass for employees

Visit our Governance webpage.