CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America Corporation today announced that as part of a pilot program, it will reimburse $3,000 to associates purchasing a new hybrid vehicle. The program will be available to more than 21,000 associates living within 90 miles of Boston, Charlotte, and Los Angeles.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050720/CLW086LOGO-b)
"Given the size of our commuting associate base, the hybrid program expands our commitment to the environment and helps our associates to participate in making a difference while cutting down on their commuting costs," said Anne Finucane, Bank of America Global Marketing & Corporate Affairs executive and head of the company's environmental council. "We are pleased to be one of the first corporations offering this benefit and strengthening our long-standing leadership on environmental issues."
The company will evaluate the pilot, factoring in participation levels and demand to assess how it could be rolled out to the full associate base. The pilot mirrors the Internal Revenue Service's hybrid vehicle tax credit program and will apply toward a hybrid vehicle as defined by the IRS. Associates will be eligible for this reimbursement only once and are responsible for paying taxes on the reimbursement. All full-time and part-time associates working at least 20 hours per week in the three pilot cities are eligible.
The bank's environmental initiatives include:
Facilities and operations:
* The company is building the Bank of America Tower, which will be the
world's the most environmentally-sound sky scraper.
* The company has set aggressive, voluntary goals to reduce greenhouse gas
missions across the company nine percent by 2009 through the reduction
of its energy consumption. On track for this target, the company
reduced electric consumption by four percent last year through energy
conservation steps such as the use of WebGen to monitor and control
energy consumption in many bank buildings across the franchise.
Paper usage and recycling:
* From 2000-2005, the company reduced paper usage 32 percent even as the
bank's customer base grew 24 percent.
* We have an industry-leading paper procurement policy that furthers paper
reduction and recycling, addresses illegal logging, promotes sustainable
forest practices and protects endangered forests.
* We offer online banking customers the option of electronic statements in
place of paper, for which more than 3 million customers have signed up.
Additionally, for every paper statement suppressed, Bank of America is
donating $1 to The Nature Conservancy's reforestation programs, up to a
total donation of $500,000.
* Annually, the bank recycles nearly 30,000 tons of paper, effectively
recycling more paper than it purchases.
Lending Practices:
* We have comprehensive policies covering forestry and biodiversity issues
that prohibit the bank from financing projects that would destroy
primary moist tropical rainforests, certain endangered forests or from
financing companies involved in illegal logging.
* Bank of America works with its energy and utility customers to reduce
their greenhouse gas emission in their operations.
* Through Community Development Banking, we have financed the construction
of notable "green" buildings including 1400 Fifth Avenue, NYC--the
largest "green," affordable mixed-use condominium development in the
U.S.
External reporting:
* We report on environmental issues annually through the Global Reporting
Initiative.
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 54 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,700 retail banking offices, more than 16,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 19 million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 175 countries and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 79 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050720/CLW086LOGO-bAP Archive:
http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
SOURCE: Bank of America
CONTACT: Eloise Hale, Bank of America, +1-704-387-0013, or
eloise.hale@bankofamerica.com
Web site: http://www.bankofamerica.com/
