Meeting with Bank of America
MMA has been actively involved in shareholder advocacy with Bank of America (BAC) regarding its funding of coal-fired power plants and mountaintop removal (MTR) mining projects. Along with representatives from Trillium Asset Management, ICCR and Ceres, I traveled to Bank of America Tower in New York last week. We met with BAC’s Managing Directors of Energy, Global Industries and Natural Resources, as well as its Senior Risk Manager and Public Policy Director.
Our goal has been to encourage BAC to place a moratorium on the funding of new coal-fired power plants and MTR projects - and eventually stop financing them altogether - in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental damage.
During the meeting, we were able to speak with the people who make decisions about corporate loan policy and environmental concerns. We came to understand that BAC has engaged in some portfolio shifting away from dirty energy and toward renewable energy. According to an internal study, the total amount of energy BAC has funded over the last few years has increased 20%, while emissions have decreased 5%. BAC has also devoted $20 billion over 10 years for environmental loan initiatives, and is a vocal proponent of a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases. That said, BAC still has plenty of room for improvement in order to be consistent with its own stated goals.
BAC has been concerned about its direct environmental footprint for years, such as its paper use and energy consumption. As evidence of this, the building we met in is seeking platinum LEED green building certification, and generates half its energy on-site from the sun. Now it is working to pursue greener strategies in its loan portfolio - and we will continue to push them in this direction.
