Bank of America announced today that it has met its $125 billion goal to deploy capital to low-carbon, sustainable business activities. This commitment was achieved six years ahead of schedule, as demand for capital for sustainable innovations and projects has continued to increase. The financing supported hundreds of thousands of jobs and helped contribute tens of billions of dollars to U.S. GDP. It also supported activities in areas such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transportation, water conservation, and sustainable land use. The goal is part of Bank of America’s broader Environmental Business Initiative.
“Through our sustainable finance efforts, we’re driving a clean energy future, while helping our clients accelerate their business activities related to low-carbon and sustainable growth,” said Anne Finucane, vice chairman at Bank of America. “Through this recently met goal and our new $300 billion environmental business commitment, we are further scaling our investment in a low-carbon economy and advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”
Bank of America launched its Environmental Business Initiative in 2007, and has already directed $145 billion to these efforts. Building on this success, the company announced a third goal under its Environmental Business Initiative to mobilize an additional $300 billion by 2030 to help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy.
Through its Environmental Business Initiative, Bank of America has become a leader in sustainable finance. Highlights include:
Since 2013, Bank of America has issued $6.35 billion in corporate green bonds. In October, the company issued its fifth corporate green bond for $2 billionin aggregate principal amount — becoming the first U.S. financial institution to issue five corporate green bonds.
Since 2007, BofA Securities, Bank of America’s broker-dealer subsidiary, has underwritten approximately $48 billion in green bonds on behalf of more than 100 clients, supporting more than 260 bond issuances and providing critical funding to environmental projects. BofA Securities is the leading underwriter of all green bonds issued since 2007, according to Dealogic and the Environmental Finance Green Bond Database.
Bank of America was the leading tax equity investor in the United States from 2015 through 2018, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance league tables. Since 2007, the Bank of America Renewable Energy Finance team has been responsible for approximately $11 billion of renewable energy tax equity financing, supporting wind and solar energy facilities.
By helping sustainable businesses tap the global capital markets, Bank of America is funding important environmental projects while creating jobs and spurring economic progress. The company teamed up with consulting firm EY to analyze the economic impacts resulting from a $41.6 billion subset of its $125 billion commitment under the Environmental Business Initiative deployed from 2013 to 2018; the analysis found that over this period, Bank of America’s financing supported 159,998 U.S. jobs and helped contribute $51.4 billion to U.S. GDP.
Bank of America’s Environmental Business Initiative is part of the company’s broader focus on furthering the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs outline societal priorities such as sustainable energy, clean water and sanitation, affordable housing, education and health care. There is a significant gap between the capital that is needed to address the SDGs and the amount that is available today. Bank of America is deploying sustainable finance to help narrow that gap.
In 2018, Bank of America launched the Blended Finance Catalyst Pool, a financing initiative to provide $60 million in capital and mobilize additional private capital to help address the SDGs. The financing pool specifically focuses on energy access (SDG7), affordable housing (SDG11), water and sanitation access (SDG6), and climate resiliency (SDG13). It will prioritize emerging markets and fund select opportunities in developed markets. The initiative aims to support economic growth, drive innovation, and result in more sustainable jobs, development and projects.
Learn more about Bank of America’s commitment to the environment at bankofamerica.com/environment.
At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).
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