BMO Invests in Clear Blue Skies(TM)

Invests $10 million in new Greening Canada Fund

TORONTO , Nov. 23 /CNW/ - BMO Financial Group today announced that it is one of the initial investors in the Greening Canada Fund, the first-ever voluntary carbon emissions reduction fund aimed exclusively at large Canadian corporations. The Fund will purchase and deliver carbon offset credits from across Canada for its investors. BMO's initial investment in the fund is $10 million .

"BMO is proud to be one of the initial investors for the Greening Canada Fund," said Cam Fowler, Head of Strategy and Corporate Marketing, BMO Financial Group. "When it comes to the environment, our customers expect us to lead by example. Investing in this unique fund complements the efforts we are already making in carbon reductions and the use of renewable energy. We were the first Canadian bank to commit to reaching carbon neutrality across its operations - worldwide - next year."

"We have a number of initiatives in place to achieve absolute reductions in our carbon emissions, and we are continuing with purchases of renewable energy," said Jim Johnston , Director, Environmental Sustainability, BMO Financial Group. "We've been making operational improvements, retrofitting buildings, using technology to reduce travel and raising employee awareness. Recently, we added the Maritime provinces to our Bullfrog Power commitment, bringing us to an annual purchase of over 23,800 megawatt hours of emission-free electricity - enough renewable energy to power 160 BMO branches and office locations across Canada ."

The Fund will invest in Canadian-based projects in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, supporting green initiatives in communities across the country. "Support of the Fund provides us with yet another way we can support Canadian communities, who will receive real benefits," said Mr. Fowler .

BMO and the Environment:

BMO is a long-time signatory and respondent to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP); it is also one of the highest scoring companies in the world and the only Canadian bank in the CDP's Global 500 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index for 2009. This is the second year in a row that BMO has been included on this prestigious list. Additionally, CDP's Canadian partner, The Conference Board of Canada , has also recognized BMO as a 2009 Canada 200 Climate Disclosure Leader.

BMO is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, the Jantzi Social Index and the FTSE4Good Series Index. BMO is also included on the 2009 Jantzi/Maclean's list of the 50 Most Responsible Corporations in Canada and has appeared on Corporate Knights Magazine's Best 50 Corporate Citizens list every year since 2003.

BMO is a leader in reducing its non-renewable energy consumption. BMO purchases over 23,800 megawatt hours of emission-free electricity annually from Bullfrog Power, a green electricity retailer that markets energy from clean, renewable sources like wind power and low-impact water power, making BMO a leading purchaser of electricity among financial institutions from the company. This is enough renewable energy to power 160 BMO branches and office locations across Canada .

To help customers, investors, employees and other interested parties make sense of it all; BMO's Corporate Responsibility website has a section devoted to addressing climate change (www.bmo.com/environment). The site provides one of the most complete compilations of corporate performance data among its peers.

For further information: Media Contacts: Peter Scott, Toronto, [email protected], [phone]; Ronald Monet, Montreal, [email protected], [phone]; Laurie Grant, Vancouver, [email protected], [phone]; Internet: www.bmo.com