More than half the commitment will support transitioning to a low-carbon economy with rest to sustainable agriculture, recycling, conservation and other sustainable businesses; Company also commits to transparency and robust reporting
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) today announced it will provide $200
billion in financing to sustainable businesses and projects by 2030,
with more than 50 percent focused on clean technology and renewable
energy transactions that directly support the transition to a low-carbon
economy. The company also detailed its commitment to transparency in its
methodology for accounting, project inclusion, and the carbon intensity
of its credit portfolio, and will regularly report on the social,
environmental, and economic impacts of the lending.
Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan made the announcement during his keynote at
the CECP CEO Force for Good Investor Forum in San Francisco. He said,
“Wells Fargo is committed to taking a leadership role in supporting the
transition to a low-carbon economy and promoting environmental
sustainability through our products and services, operations and
culture, and philanthropy. With this commitment, we are combining a
strong financial goal with enhanced transparency and disclosure
practices that we believe will lead to sector-wide progress on
responsible, sustainable finance.”
More than $100 billion in financing offered by Wells Fargo will support
the transition to a low-carbon economy by funding clean technologies,
clean energy (renewables), green bonds, and alternative transportation.
The remainder of the $200 billion will support companies and projects
focused on sustainable agriculture, recycling, conservation, and other
environmentally beneficial activities.
In addition to the financial pledge, Wells Fargo has committed to
sector-leading transparency around its sustainable financing accounting
and inclusion practices, annual impact reporting, and reporting on
contributions toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
and progress in implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on
Climate-related Financial Disclosure. Additionally, the company will
engage with sector peers and other organizations interested in advancing
a common approach to responsible, sustainable finance. Wells Fargo
further pledged that it would revisit the commitment periodically to
make any adjustments necessary based on progress made and/or
developments in best practices for transparency and disclosure.
“Wells Fargo’s new commitments are significant and add to the growing
momentum by the financial sector to commit hundreds of billions of
dollars in clean energy investments and to improve transparency through
greater disclosure of climate-related risks and opportunities,”
said Mindy Lubber, CEO and President of Ceres. “More and more investors
and companies understand the economic imperative and strategic long-term
benefits of keeping global temperature rise to well-below 2-degrees
Celsius.”
The commitment builds on Wells Fargo’s leadership in clean technology
and renewable energy financing. The company’s 2012 sustainable finance
goal of $30 billion by 2020 was met five years early (in 2015). In 2016,
projects owned in whole or in part by Wells Fargo produced more than 9
percent of all wind and solar photovoltaic energy generated in the U.S.,
and in 2017, the company invested $12 billion in sustainable businesses.
Wells Fargo is also a financial services leader in operational
sustainability:
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In 2017, the company began meeting 100 percent of its global
electricity needs with renewable energy and met its 2020
carbon-reduction goal of 45 percent from a 2008 baseline. It also
logged progress against other sustainability goals focused on water
and energy efficiency, waste reduction, and LEED certification.
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Wells Fargo’s award-winning Innovation Incubator is a $30 million
philanthropic program with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National
Renewable Energy Laboratory that speeds the path to market for
promising clean technologies and entrepreneurs focused on energy
efficiency and sustainability. A signature piece of the program is the
opportunity for certain technologies to beta test within the Wells
Fargo footprint on their way to the commercial marketplace.
“We take an ecosystem approach to supporting clean technology,” said
Mary Wenzel, head of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs at Wells
Fargo. “We work to advance new technologies by providing financing and
other services, testing, and adopting new technologies within our
footprint and providing philanthropic support to leading accelerators,
incubators, and universities focused on clean technology development and
entrepreneurship.”
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based
financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s
vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them
succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco,
Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and
consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,300 locations,
13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has
offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct
business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members,
Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells
Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of
America’s largest corporations. In 2017, Wells Fargo donated $286.5
million to 14,500 nonprofits and Wells Fargo team members volunteered a
record 2 million hours. Wells Fargo’s corporate social responsibility
efforts are focused on three strategic priorities: diversity and social
inclusion, economic empowerment, and environmental sustainability. News,
insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells
Fargo Stories.