Scotiabank Grows Net Zero Research Fund to $10 Million

TORONTO, November 15, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Scotiabank is proud to announce that it will be expanding its Net Zero Research Fund to $10 Million (CAD), which will be distributed to a select number of recipients over the next ten-years. Launched this year as part of the Bank's Climate Commitments, the goal of the fund is to help advance research and leadership in support of the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Scotiabank also announced the first group of Canadian and international academic institutions who were chosen to receive grants from the inaugural $1 million fund.

One of this year's recipients is Efficiency Canada, a national organization focused on maximizing the benefits of energy efficiency through public policy. Click here to learn how Efficiency Canada is using public policy to improve industrial energy management.

As the need for data to inform policy and decarbonization efforts increases, the Net Zero Research Fund will help to enable greater climate research opportunities within the Canadian, U.S. and Latin American academic and not-for-profit communities.

"Climate change continues to be a major priority for Scotiabank as we deepen our approach to sustainability and leverage our capabilities to help drive positive environmental action," says Meigan Terry, SVP and Chief Communications and Social Impact Officer at Scotiabank. "By expanding Scotiabank's Net Zero Research Fund to $10 million we are making a significant investment in enabling innovative research and development to support a low carbon economy for every future."

2021 grants allocated by the Net Zero Research Fund have been awarded to academic and non-profit research institutions in Canada, the U.S. and Latin America pioneering research in the global effort to help decarbonize the economy. Next year the Bank will deploy an additional $1 million dollars through new grants facilitating additional net-zero research. The 2022 call-for-submissions will be held from April 1 through until June 30, 2022.

The full list of the 2021 recipient universities and their corresponding research projects are listed below. For a more detailed description of recipient submissions, and for more information about the fund, visit the Scotiabank Climate Change Centre of Excellence.

Public policy research for low-carbon economies:

Efficiency Canada, part of Carleton University's Sustainable Energy Research Centre, for their research of public policy strategies designed to improve and expand industrial energy management system programming and use.

Tecnologico de Monterrey (Tec) for their work to determine effective technological and public policy pathways needed to help decarbonize industrial sectors in developing countries, such as Mexico, as well as their case study on decarbonization strategies in the state of Nuevo Leon.

Smart Prosperity Institute (University of Ottawa) for their work with the World Resources Institute and Canada Cleantech Alliance to explore how smart tax incentives can attract investment into promising clean technologies that are needed to reach a net zero future.

Private sector research for the development of low-carbon economies:

Libélula Institute for Global Change for their study of the challenges, barriers and opportunities of corporate climate action in Latin America. The report will showcase best practices and success stories from various sectors, for use by similar companies, sectors and/or industries.

Simon Fraser University for their research into how leading companies are leveraging their influence to help drive rapid decarbonisation in their value chain by motivating and supporting their suppliers and to take climate action.

Carbon emissions measurement, capture and reduction technologies research and strategies:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology for their research into carbon capture or sequestration strategies.

Ontario Tech University (Brilliant Energy Institute) for the development of a consistent approach to measuring and communicating carbon emissions at a community, city, regional, provincial, national and global scale.

QUEST for the development of a research project that will help Canadian communities learn how to aggregate or bundle their local, low-carbon energy projects.

University of Calgary for their assessment of marine carbon dioxide reduction approaches, focusing on development, risk assessment and pilot planning for a new technology that can store carbon as bicarbonate in the ocean.

The University of Chile's Centre for Climate and Resilience Research (CR)2 and Energy Centre to help Chile reach its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 under The Climate Change Framework Act.

Tecnologico de Monterrey (Tec) for their work in Mexico to use microalgae for CO2 capture and to produce a biomass-based soil enhancer for agriculture purposes.

About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future" we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of over 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.2 trillion (as at July 31, 2021), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.