Our Sustainability
Today and Tomorrow, the Trust of Albertans Is Ours to Earn
Two years ago, ATB launched a 10-year strategic plan that courageously advances our clients’ and province’s futures, with focus on the long-term sustainability of our business and value creation for all of ATB’s stakeholders. This convergence of people, planet and prosperity has shaped ATB’s overall ESG efforts and has allowed ATB to mature its Greater Good strategy.
As such, this sustainability report reflects on our past fiscal year, while presenting an opportunity to reaffirm the forward momentum that has been established.
Change is the only constant. We continue to see an ever-increasing pace of challenging socio-economic issues—provincially and globally—that have an impact on our clients and our communities. How we monitor and manage these issues is critical as we support the success of our clients and the province. The responsible stewardship and sustainability of our business must go beyond simply being a good corporate citizen.
We will do this by continuing to enhance our data-driven approach to identifying and positively impacting Alberta’s greatest socio-economic challenges. We will also focus on material ESG topics while contributing to the growth of our economy—issues that matter most to our enterprise and stakeholders.
The socio-economic impacts of an organization can create or erode value for its stakeholders, and so it is important to ATB that we reflect a balanced dialogue through our sustainability reporting, in which transparency and trust are the cornerstones.
We are enhancing our approach to ESG by adopting a more stakeholder-centric methodology. Our goal is to provide the most relevant information about ATB’s sustainability performance, which will align with global sustainability standards and frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This creates a foundation for consistency, comparability and accountability.
We also recognize that ESG areas of focus are not tackled in isolation—they are deeply interconnected. To further build on an enterprise-wide approach that addresses this opportunity, ATB appointed its first Chief Legal and Sustainability Officer (CLSO)—Stuart McKellar—who is leading a new portfolio focused on the development of ATB’s ESG strategy. This will include establishing ATB’s unique approach and position to sustainability and to being a responsible steward for both our organization and the province.
Sustainability Governance
Our approach to sustainability and broader ESG strategy, which includes corporate social responsibility (CSR), is evolving and involves a range of activities that encompass not only charitable giving and corporate citizenship, but also an expectation that companies like ATB will contribute in broader ways to the well-being of society.
This is achieved by providing oversight for all aspects of our ESG and CSR governance, such as strategic alignment of our policies, donations, fundraising, partnerships and reporting.
Corporate Governance
ATB’s Board of Directors reviews ESG and CSR policies, governance and performance, which are intended to directly support ATB’s strategic business goals and create value for stakeholders impacted by ATB’s operations. That includes but is not limited to team members, clients, directors, our Shareholder—the Province of Alberta—and all Albertans. ATB senior management is responsible for ensuring that day-to-day practice and processes are outlined and adhered to.
ATB recognizes that measurement, transparency and accountability are central to our sustainability. ATB is committed to measuring the impacts of our operations, setting targets for continuous improvement and making this information publicly available.
More information on how ATB’s governance is structured to achieve this can be found in the Corporate Governance section of this annual report.
Corporate Donations Committee
The committee reviews and approves funding for donation requests at the broader organizational level, based on guidance within ATB’s CSR policy. It provides direction and monitors progress for all our social impact partnerships. The Director of Social Impact Partnerships chairs the committee.
Market Donations and Sponsorship Committees
The Corporate Donations committee guides three Market Donations committees, which review and approve funding for donation requests at the regional level. To ensure a coordinated approach to giving, a member of the Corporate Donations committee sits on each Market Donations committee.
Scorecard Advisory Committee
For more information on this committee, please see About This Report.