Case study: How TD creates economic value for its stakeholders
As a top 10 North American bank, TD seeks to stand out from its peers by having a differentiated brand anchored in its proven business model, and rooted in a desire to give its customers, communities and colleagues the confidence to thrive in a changing world. TD’s business strategy is to produce long-term profitable growth by building strong franchises to deliver value to its customers, colleagues, shareholders and the broader community. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2020 ESG Report by TD, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
By maintaining a strong business with solid revenues, TD can pay its employees fair wages and benefits, compensate its suppliers and support small, medium- and large-sized businesses. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders TD took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for shareholders
- create economic value for the government
- support communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) TD has identified;
- How TD proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by TD to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 ESG Report TD identified a range of material issues, such as talent attraction, development and retention, ethics and integrity, customer experience, data security and privacy. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for TD.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups TD engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Customers
| · Solicit feedback by phone, in person (focus groups and at home), email and online, including social media · Formal process for handling complaints · Consumer associations |
| Employees
| · Employee surveys and focus groups · Executive leadership visits · Intranet comment engine and online communities (Between Us) · Employee Ombudsman (Between Us) · Employee Assistance Programme · Conduct and Ethics Hotline |
| Shareholders and Investors
| · Annual meetings and quarterly earnings calls · Shareholder proposals · Shareholder Relations phone and email channels · Regular meetings with investors · Investor Relations website · Industry conferences |
| Governments
| · Government Relations teams for Canada and the U.S. · Ongoing dialogue with regulators and policy-makers |
| Suppliers
| · Website for prospective suppliers · Email responses to supplier questions |
| Industry Associations
| · Industry association memberships · Memberships in various multi-stakeholder groups · Participation in financial centre bodies |
| Communities
| · Corporate Citizenship team · Diversity and Inclusion team · Indigenous Banking team · Ongoing dialogue with community organisations · The TD Ready Commitment Network · TD Friends of the Environment |
| Non-Governmental Organisations
| · Meetings, phone calls, face-to-face consultation · Funding research projects · Conferences and forums · 27 engagements |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics TD engaged with its stakeholders through interviews (16 internal interviews including 33 TD leaders from different business areas and 17 external interviews).
What actions were taken by TD to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2020 ESG Report TD reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2020, TD paid $11.9b for employee salaries and benefits.
- Creating economic value for shareholders
- In 2020, TD spent $5.0b in cash dividends (paid).
- Creating economic value for the government
- In 2020, TD paid $2.1b in taxes, including sales taxes, municipal and property taxes, insurance premium taxes, business taxes and capital taxes (excludes $602 million in payroll taxes, which are included in salaries and benefits).
- Supporting communities
- In 2020, TD spent $130m in community giving (includes cash donations in North America and the U.K.).
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by TD, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
https://www.td.com/document/PDF/ESG/2020-ESG-Report.pdf
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