BMO donates $2M to CHEO for climate-friendly initiatives on Earth Day

Representatives from BMO, CHEO and CHEO Foundation gathered at CHEO for an announcement of a $2 million donation toward sustainability initiatives. (CHEO/supplied)

Ottawa’s children’s hospital has received a $2 million gift from one of Canada’s biggest banks.

CHEO, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, says BMO made the donation on Wednesday to mark Earth Day. The money is intended to “support sustainability initiatives, including the Phase 1 Redevelopment and the future of low‑carbon pediatric care,” the hospital said in a news release.

“Health care remains a significant contributor to global emissions, making climate leadership in the sector both urgent and essential. CHEO has emerged as a national frontrunner in this work,” the release said.

CHEO says the money will be used to develop a first-of-its-kind, AI-enabled healthcare emissions dashboard to automate and track hospital-wide emissions. The dashboard, once developed, could then be expanded to hospitals across Canada.

“Today is about recognizing we can’t be well if our planet is not well. And there are things we can do as CHEO, thinking about the well-being of children and youth, to decrease our contribution to greenhouse gas generation and improve the future,” said hospital CEO Dr. Vera Etches.

“I think what was really made clear by the young person on our panel, Siobhan, was that we can’t achieve this alone. It takes donors. It takes innovative ideas from our team. It takes leadership and commitment. And that in itself is really inspiring for me. I see when people come together to take this kind of action, it’s very hopeful.”

The money will also be used for sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives at CHEO’s 50-year-old campus in Ottawa, including the construction of CHEO’s new Integrated Treatment Centre, a six-storey, 200,000 sq. ft. building that will serve approximately 13,700 children and youth with special needs, along with their families.

The Integrated Treatment Centre is slated to be completed in 2028.

“This investment reflects our belief in future‑ready infrastructure and robust tools to measure and manage emissions. Together, this work helps advance a more sustainable future for pediatric healthcare and the long‑term impact it will create,” said BMO chief sustainability officer Michael Torrance.

“Our vision is to boldly grow the good in business, in life, and we understand that we’re in a position where we can provide capital to organizations and partner with them in a way that can really have an impact on the sustainable future,” said Sheri Griffiths, BMO’s Ontario head of corporate finance. “And that’s something that’s important to us as an organization and to our clients.”

CHEO says is has committed to achieving net zero by 2047, and has already reduced its operational greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Peter Szperling

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