Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced it is adopting a 10-point Environmental Commitment to integrate environmental responsibility into its business practices and procedures.
Although many of the commitments are quite substantive, such as providing $1 billion in financing to environmentally beneficial businesses over the five years, it’s overall policy still has a ways to go.
Says Michael Brune, Rainforest Action Network executive director, the NGO that has been working with the financial industry to reform its practices: "We’re happy they’re acknowledging the environment is something to pay attention to, but this policy doesn’t meet the emerging industry standard — to phase out investing in operations that would degrade endangered forests, and to develop an intelligent response to climate change.
"Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America have all set forth policies that are clearer and stronger than Wells Fargo’s."
Wells Fargo’s 10-Point Environmental Commitment:
1. The Company will provide $1+ billion in lending, investments, and other financial commitments over the next five years to environmentally-beneficial business opportunities including sustainable forestry, renewable energy, water resource management, waste management, energy efficiency, and "green" home construction and development. The Company will solicit input from customers, industry groups and environmental groups during the process.
2. By the end of 2005, it will adopt environmental due diligence procedures and practices for middle-market and large corporate customers in environmentally-sensitive industries and will solicit input from customers, industry groups and environmental groups during the process.
3. It will sign the Equator Principles, which commit financial institutions to improve environmental and social risk management in project financing.
4. It will expand opportunities for customers to qualify for energy-efficient mortgages and will look for partnerships to encourage construction of homes with energy efficient and other green building features that reduce environmental impact.
5. It will increase its efforts to conserve resources in its operations including company-wide recycling and purchasing programs. It will collect data on energy and greenhouse gas emissions from all the facilities it owns and, where possible, those facilities it leases, to track and help minimize the effect on the environment from its operations.
6. Senior managers will support and sponsor the Company’s environmental commitment and explore business development opportunities.
7. In addition to the Company’s newly-created Environmental Affairs Advisory Council — made up of senior managers from across the Company — Wells Fargo will create an external Environmental Advisory Board to guide the Company’s efforts, including customers in the energy and forestry industries, and environmental experts from academia and non-profit organizations.
8. The Company will increase corporate contributions of financial, human and social capital to selected environmental non-profit groups in the communities in which it does business and hold itself accountable annually for measurable progress.
9. The Company will incorporate environmental commitments into the Company’s Vision and Values and welcome the ideas of team members in the process.
10. The Company will communicate annually its achievements in meeting these commitments.
Loading...