TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2011 /CNW/ - TD Bank Group (TD), an environmental leader in the North American banking sector, today announced its commitment to become paper neutral within its North American operations by the end of 2012. To achieve this goal, TD will take steps to significantly reduce the amount of paper it uses and will introduce a major forest conservation program to offset the paper it does use.

"The message is clear: our customers and employees want us to use less paper - in bank statements, in business materials and within our business operations," says Karen Clarke-Whistler, TD's Chief Environment Officer. "As a result, we've set a course to radically reduce our paper use and minimize the environmental impact of the remaining paper that we do use."

TD's overall goal will be to reduce paper use by 20% by 2015 - an amount equal to about 300,000,000 sheets of typical office paper.  Over the next year, it will expand and enhance its paperless banking options and other online services for customers and will introduce initiatives to reduce the amount of paper used by employees.

The bank will be partnering with the Nature Conservancy of Canada on an innovative program to offset the impact of the paper it does use.  The program will work to enlarge and protect areas of threatened forest habitat across the country at a rate equivalent to more than one football field a day.

"This is a major initiative that demonstrates how collaboration between corporate leaders and conservation groups can effect real change," says John Lounds, President and CEO of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC).  "With this partnership we will increase the amount of forested lands protected and cared for by NCC and engage more Canadians in the mission to conserve forest habitat, which is so important to many of our species at risk."

TD's environmental roots are deep. The TD Friends of the Environment Foundation was established 21 years ago and has supported more than 20,000 community projects. In 2010 TD became the first North American-based bank to become carbon neutral and has set a target of reducing its carbon footprint by one tonne per employee by 2015.  Throughout its operations, the bank is working to embed an environmental perspective into its business strategy.

"We have a strong track record as an environmental leader, but we continually strive to be better," says Mike Pedersen, Group Head, Wealth Management, Insurance and Corporate Shared Services, TD Bank Group. "Our commitment to becoming paper neutral demonstrates how we can address our customer needs, drive innovation in our business and enhance the environment."

About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group (TD). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves approximately 20.5 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust, TD Insurance, and TD Auto Finance Canada; Wealth Management, including TD Waterhouse and an investment in TD Ameritrade; U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, and TD Auto Finance U.S.; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 7.5 million online customers. TD had CDN$686 billion in assets on October 31, 2011. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

About the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC)
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the nation's leading not-for-profit, private land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to protect more than 2.2 million acres (890,300 hectares), coast to coast.  To learn more visit:  www.natureconservancy.ca