About

Desjardins Group is the leading cooperative financial group in North America and one of the main employers in Canada.

The first Canadian institution to sign the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) in 2019, Desjardins is also a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI). As a cooperative financial group contributing to the development of communities, sustainable development is part of Desjardins’ DNA and is one of the foundations of its corporate strategy. Desjardins Group is therefore proud to be a partner of the next edition of Adaptation Futures.
Committed to the fight against climate change and adapting to its effects, Desjardins has set itself a net zero emissions target by 2040 for its operations and its supply chain, as well as its loans and own investments in three key carbon-intensive sectors: energy, transportation, and real estate.

Desjardins supports its members and clients, individuals and businesses, in their efforts to adapt to the effects of climate change. Indeed, they can benefit from discounts on financing for buildings with environmental certifications or for ecological renovations. They also have access to prevention tools – in particular thanks to programs like Ajusto (telematics), Alert (at-home prevention system) and Radar (bad weather notifications). In addition, Desjardins is adapting its products and services to the serious consequences of climate change, in particular by developing an extensive property and casualty insurance offer, with insurance guarantees for its business members in terms of water damage and sewer backflows. Finally, thanks to several partnerships, Desjardins is equipping businesses to be more resilient and adapt to the new reality brought about by climate change.

The Adaptation Fund (AF) finances projects and programs that help vulnerable communities in developing countries adapt and build resilience to climate change.

An innovative fund set up by the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, AF formally serves the Paris Agreement. It pioneered Direct Access which empowers country ownership in adaptation by enabling countries to access funds and develop projects directly through locally based National Implementing Entities.

AF has grown rapidly and has been receiving record demand since launching its operations 15-plus years ago, with more than US$ 1 billion now committed to 150 concrete, localized projects in over 100 countries serving more than 38 million beneficiaries.

It offers growing funding opportunities across strategic pillars of Action, Innovation, and Learning and Sharing that support tangible, scalable adaptation actions on the ground for the most vulnerable groups. Independent reviews call AF’s work effective, efficient and relevant.