Wells Fargo Announces $200 Billion Sustainable Financing Commitment
April 19 2018 - 05:15PM
Business Wire
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.
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Wells Fargo Sustainable Finance
Commitment (Graphic: Business Wire)
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:
- 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.
- 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.
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Media ContactE.J. Bernacki,
415-840-4469ejbernacki@wellsfargo.comorInvestor
RelationsJohn M. Campbell,
415-396-0523John.M.Campbell@wellsfargo.com
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