Commercial, GHG Emissions  -  February 11, 2021

Bank of America sets steps for net zero by 2050

Bank of America announced on Feb. 11 a series of initial steps it will take to achieve its goal of net zero GHG emissions in it financing activities by 2050, as well as broader 2030 operational and supply chain goals as part of a holistic commitment to environmental sustainability.

“It is critical that we leverage all parts of our business – beyond our direct operations – in order to accelerate the transition to a net zero global economy,” said Bank of America Vice Chairman, Anne Finucane, in a statement. Finucane, who leads the company’s environmental, social and governance, sustainable finance, capital deployment, and public policy efforts, continued, “We recognize that this will be no easy task, but we believe our commitment will help spur the growth of zero carbon energy and power solutions, sustainable transportation and agriculture, and other sector transformations while generating more climate-resilient and equitable opportunities for our future.”

Significantly increasing investment in the low-carbon technologies and activities needed to decarbonize all sectors of the economy will be critical to Bank of America meeting its net zero goals. The company has already directed more than $200 billion in capital and has committed to deploy a total of $445 billion by 2030 under its Environmental Business Initiative, under which the company partners closely with its clients to finance the adoption of low-carbon solutions, including resource-efficient building construction, renewable energy, sustainable transportation such as electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and resource-efficient agriculture.

Bank of America achieved carbon neutrality in its operations in 2019, a year ahead of schedule, and increased the number of vendors that measure and publicly report GHG emissions through the CDP Supply Chain survey. Among their next set of targets to be achieved by 2030:

• Maintain carbon neutrality for operations (Scope 1 and 2).
• Purchase 100% zero carbon electricity.
• Reduce location-based GHG emissions by 75% (Scope 1 and 2).
• Reduce energy use by 55%.
• Manage facilities responsibly and achieve LEED® certification (or comparable) for 40% of building space.
• Ensure 70% of global vendors, by spend, set GHG emissions reduction or renewable energy targets.
• Asses 90% of global vendors, by spend, for ESG risks as outlined by the company’s Vendor Code of Conduct.

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