Solar Decathlon 2013
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo is a diversified, community-based financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. A leader in reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions and building sustainably, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States and has been widely recognized for sustainability leadership in the communities it serves.
At Wells Fargo, we believe those of us who can should lead positive environmental change, and we embrace that responsibility. That's why, as we do business, we try to protect natural resources and the environment. We're finding new ways to minimize our energy consumption, reduce waste, and support renewable sources of energy while building stronger communities.
In April 2012, we released a new environmental commitment with a comprehensive set of goals and metrics that we can measure against through 2020. We developed the goals and metrics through conversations with customers, senior executives, team members, shareholders, and environmental thought leaders. Part of our commitment includes a $100-million environmental grants commitment by 2020 to create a "greener" future for the communities we serve.
Last year, in our first year of this commitment, we contributed 8 million in philanthropic dollars to nearly 400 environmental nonprofits. In 2012, we also launched two environmental grant programs, including the Clean Technology and Innovation Grant Program, which fosters and funds entrepreneurial ideas for new and emerging clean technologies with leading universities and incubator programs. Through this program, we proudly join the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 team as a sustaining partner. As the goal of this environmental grant program is to find, foster, and fund projects and entrepreneur programs that support the commercialization of new and emerging clean technologies, our involvement in this event exemplifies our company's long-term environmental investment and community goals. We look forward to continuing to support technology advancements, which are a critical part of supporting a clean energy future for our communities.
Wells Fargo has developed a long-term strategy aligned with our company's vision and values to foster economic development in the global "green" economy and inspire innovation from entrepreneurs and research entities working on critical environmental issues. The health of our environment plays a critical role in fostering more sustainable communities.
Throughout our history, we have used our depth of resources to invest financial and human capital to strengthen communities across the U.S. Today, we continue to invest our resources to protect our environment. Since 2005, Wells Fargo has provided $21 billion in environmental finance to support the global economy and the environment. This includes investments in more than 260 solar projects and 34 wind projects that generate enough clean, renewable energy to power hundreds of thousands of American homes each year.
We are proud to be a sustaining partner in this year's event and congratulate all who are involved with the Solar Decathlon 2013 and working to develop America's clean technology infrastructure.
