Wells Fargo & Co., operator of Wachovia bank branches in Connecticut, announced today a goal to cut its U.S. carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2018.
The San Francisco bank is installing solar photovoltaic systems on 10 banking branches in Denver. Combined the systems will generate about 300,000 kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy each year, or the equivalent of avoiding about 450,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
The Wells Fargo and Wachovia merger integration is giving the bank a chance to make its branches greener. Sixteen of the first Wachovia branches to convert to the Wells Fargo brand are registered under the U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification program for existing buildings.
“The health of our environment very much affects the health of our communities and our long-term business success,” said Mary Wenzel, Wells Fargo director of environmental affairs.
Wells Fargo’s greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts include:
- Encouraging customers to choose online-only statements and use envelope-free ATMs to make deposits to save energy
- Educating and engaging employees about actions they can take to help reduce energy use at work and at home
- Buying energy efficient office and building equipment and evaluating energy consumption as part of requests for proposals from suppliers
- Reducing business travel by air by taking greater advantage of video conferencing
- Building energy efficient, LEED certified branches
- Investing in renewable energy projects at its facilities
- Managing data centers for energy efficiency
- Upgrading facilities for energy efficiency and use of energy saving lights and light sensors.
