With operations in more than 1,500 buildings in Canada alone, RBC occupies a significant amount of commercial real estate. As such, we strive to reduce our impact on the environment in all our operations. Energy consumption is a good example: we know that responsible energy use saves money, helps protect the environment, and is an obligation to shareholders, stakeholders and the communities in which we live and work. Here are some of the things we do to achieve this:

•  Through the Building Energy Performance Index Challenge, we identify the least energy-efficient branches across Canada annually and prioritize them for action. We investigate the potential causes of the inefficiencies and unexpectedly high energy consumption, and then develop both short- and long-term solutions, with a view to implementing best practices on a wider basis;
•  RBC has supported Green Power generation since 2002, and we have purchased 4,240 megawatt-hours (MWh) of Green Power since then;
•  In 2005, RBC purchased 530 MWh of Green Power from BC Hydro. This purchase is equivalent to taking 53 passenger cars off the road for a year, and a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 190 tonnes. We also purchased 1,000 MWh from Bullfrog Power, the only 100 per cent green electricity retailer in Ontario that sources power from wind and low-impact hydro generators. This energy will power seven branches in Toronto, as well as RBC’s premises in Toronto’s Medical and Related Sciences Centre, and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 800 tonnes; and
•  RBC’s new construction standards now require the installation of occupancy sensors to switch lights off when no one’s around in new branches and in major renovations. We also changed our corporate standards for room temperature settings in all of our offices. This slight modification will have a beneficial impact on energy use across all our premises.

Conservation in the workplace
•  In 2005, RBC introduced a “paperless” statement for clients of our online banking service in Canada, estimated to save 40 tonnes of paper annually. This number will increase as more clients become comfortable receiving their statements online. In 2004, we introduced electronic pay statements for Canadian employees, eliminating the printing of 2 million statements and envelopes, and saving nearly 16 tonnes of paper annually.
•  When we renovate, we reuse material wherever possible. In 2005, more than 60 tonnes of carpet tile were reused, rather than landfilled, thanks to a program started in 2002.
•  By 2005, we reduced the number of printers in our workplaces by 52 per cent by introducing shared, networked devices capable of many functions. The new units are Energy Star compliant, and are expected to reduce energy consumption. This initiative also resulted in a reduction in our usage of ink cartridges as well.

 

  
     
 

CONSERVATION IN THE COMMUNITY
•  RBC is on the advisory panel of the Canadian Brownfields Network, launched in March 2004. Its goal is to accelerate redevelopment and urban revitalization across Canada. A brownfield is an abandoned, idle or underutilized commercial or industrial property usually in an urban area where past actions have caused, or are suspected to have caused, environmental contamination. Brownfield redevelopment results in the revitalization of communities through increased economic productivity, increased tax revenue, lower municipal infrastructure costs, reduced health risks and improved neighbourhoods.
•  To mark Earth Day 2005, RBC took part in Cellphones for Food, a program to encourage employees in the Greater Toronto Area to donate their used cellphones to a unique organization that auctions off the phones to the remanufacturing industry, and redirects the resulting revenues to local food banks. The donation of one cell phone translates into a carton of milk, a jar of peanut butter, or even a whole meal to someone in need. RBC collected 187 cell phones, alleviating close to 51 kilograms of waste.
•  RBC donated $75,000 to support Adopt a Class, a program offered by Ducks Unlimited Canada to provide urban children with a chance to experience nature first-hand.
•  RBC donated $45,000 to the Centennial Writing Challenge in Alberta and Saskatchewan. More than 350,000 students were asked to write a report on the “past, present and future of our environment” to commemorate both provinces’ centennial anniversaries.
•  RBC Centura completed its $100,000, four-year pledge to The Nature Conservancy’s Forever Wild campaign, designed to protect the ecologically critical and threatened lands and waters across North Carolina.

COLLABORATION AND ENGAGEMENT
RBC is committed to working with all sectors to help manage our environmental risks, pursue business opportunities that help protect the environment and minimize the impact of our operations on the environment. For example, we are a member of:
• the Canadian Banker’s Association Environmental Issues Advisory Group;
• the Environmental Bankers Association;
• the United Nations Environment Program Finance (UNEP) Initiatives; and
• the Canadian Brownfields Network.
• We are also former members of the NRTEE Brownfield Task Force.

We are engaged with Canadian federal government departments such as the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Canada on issues like climate change. As an Equator Principles signatory, we participate with the World Bank and the IFC on developing standards for project finance, and responding to the concerns of NGOs.

In 2005, RBC hosted “Canada Local, Canada Global: The Environment, Society and the Canadian Financial Sector,” a meeting of financial institutions, stakeholders and interest groups to understand risks and act on opportunities presented by environmental issues. We also sponsored CIELAP’s third annual Partnering for Sustainability Conference, as well as the Fourth Municipal Leaders Summit on Climate Change, held in parallel with The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal, Quebec.

For further information, visit rbc.com/environment.

  

 

 
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