Desjardins Group is the largest integrated cooperative financial group in Canada, with overall assets of more than $143 billion, as at June 30, 2007. It comprises a network of caisses, credit unions and business centres in Québec and Ontario, and some twenty subsidiary companies in life and general insurance, securities brokerage, venture capital and asset management, many of which are active across the country. Drawing on the expertise of its 40,000 employees and the commitment of 7,020 elected officers, Desjardins offers its 5.8 million individual and corporate members and clients a full range of financial products and services. Its physical distribution network is complemented by leading-edge virtual access methods.
As a cooperative, Desjardins Group is committed to the search for long-term development that can balance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. To support this commitment, a sustainable development policy was adopted in 2005 with a 97% favourable vote at the annual general assembly. Desjardins Group encourages practices and behaviour compatible with sustainable development, both in its offer of financial products and in its activities as a corporate consumer of goods and services. Initiatives in this respect include support to the Billion Tree Campaign and the adoption of 12 corporate actions in support of a local NGO's campaign, Changing the World, One Step at a Time. These actions, currently being implemented, will have concrete results on the three dimensions of sustainable development.