SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) today released its 2018 Corporate Responsibility report, Purpose in Action, which details its progress toward social, economic and environmental goals, and announces that the company provided $23 billion in financing in the first year of its $200 billion sustainable finance commitment. Of the $23 billion, 63% went toward low-carbon solutions such as green buildings, renewable energy and clean technologies. The remainder of the 2018 financing supports businesses and projects focused on sustainable agriculture, conservation, recycling, resource management and other environmentally beneficial activities.
Wells Fargo’s $200 billion sustainable finance commitment was announced in 2018. Additional highlights from the first year of the initiative include:
- Sustainable finance accounting methodology published for transparency in how Wells Fargo accounts for its progress toward the financial goal and the types of transactions it includes.
- Increased engagement on issues of climate change and sustainable finance, including becoming a founding member of the U.S. Sustainable Finance Alliance, and playing a role in important global and national stakeholder gatherings such as the Global Climate Action Summit and Bloomberg’s Sustainable Business Summit.
- Green buildings, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture transactions topped the list of categories for the company’s sustainable finance accounting. By the close of 2018, Wells Fargo tax equity projects represented 9.5% of all wind and solar generation capacity in the U.S.
“Every day, we challenge ourselves to more deeply embed the management of environmental, social and governance issues across our business and make progress on our corporate responsibility goals,” said Mary Wenzel, head of Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility for Wells Fargo. “With growing concerns around climate change and pressing societal challenges, we are looking at where we can use our scale and expertise to have a positive impact through our business, products and philanthropy.”
The report also provides a comprehensive update on the company’s progress in three areas of strategic focus:
- Advancing diversity and social inclusion.
- Creating economic opportunities in underserved communities.
- Accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.
“Wells Fargo’s annual Corporate Responsibility report reflects our commitment to transparency on these matters and our desire to consistently report our progress toward these important goals with all interested audiences,” said Jim Rowe, head of Stakeholder Relations for Wells Fargo. “This year, we are proud to specifically report how far we have come towards meeting our 2020 goals.”
Purpose in Action is published at the midpoint of Wells Fargo’s timeline for achieving its 2020 corporate responsibility goals, established in 2016. The company has already exceeded a number of those goals, including down-payment assistance to 4,000 lower-income homebuyers, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% (from 2008 baseline), increasing participation in diverse Team Member Network volunteer groups by 30%, and meeting 100% of global electricity needs with renewable energy since 2017.
The company also continued to invest in its employees including through salary adjustments, granting restricted stock rights to approximately 250,000 team members, and by offering two additional paid national holidays for U.S. team members. Wells Fargo team members are already awarded two days of paid volunteer time throughout the year.
In 2018, Wells Fargo donated more than $444 million to nearly 11,000 nonprofits in support of social, economic and environmental challenges in underserved communities, among other local needs. Wells Fargo team members donated more than 2 million hours of volunteer time in 2018, and as a result of team member generosity, Wells Fargo was named the No. 1 company in workplace giving by United Way Worldwide for the 10th consecutive year.
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, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,600 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 32 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 263,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2019 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.