Bank of America | Employee Programs & Partnerships

Reaching Environmental Goals, Together

Employee programs are a strategic focus area for our global environmental initiative. With a workforce that numbers in the hundreds of thousands, our employee population has the scale and desire to really “move the needle” in making a positive environmental impact. Our My Environment Ambassador program grew by more than 500% in 2011, and in a year-end survey, our employees said they wanted an active, meaningful role in helping Bank of America meet our environmental targets.

My Environment Ambassadors Program

We mobilize our employees to serve as stewards of the environment at work and at home, across 40 countries, and within every line of business and support group. More than 1,200 My Environment Ambassadors are actively working to increase employee engagement and understanding of environmental issues.

My Environment Ambassadors:

Host educational sessions for all interested employees on important environmental topics
Gather and share success stories
Participate in and/or facilitate environmental volunteer opportunities in the community
Recruit other employees to become My Environment Ambassadors
Provide feedback to the Global Environmental Group
Act as a resource to other employees for environmental stewardship

While the My Environment Ambassadors play a leadership role, all employees are welcome to participate in the local educational sessions, expert speaker webcasts and volunteer activities. They can also subscribe to our quarterly environmental newsletter or visit the Make An Impact website to calculate their own carbon footprint. Thousands of employees took advantage of the programs in 2011.

Nonprofit Partnerships

Partnering with groups that have in-depth knowledge of specific environmental issues, global resources and established educational programs and events helps us increase the impact of our environmental efforts. Our current environmental giving priority is climate change. We approach this through: Energy (Renewable and Efficiency, including Green Building); Forests (Deforestation, Reforestation); and Water (Access to, Health/Sanitation). We specifically target opportunities related to volunteerism, job creation and training and thought leadership.

Key partners include:

CERES
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University
The Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
The Nature Conservancy
National Wildlife Federation and Jobs for the Future (Greenforce Initiative)
Ocean Conservancy
Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, UC–Berkeley Law and Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment, UCLA Law
U.S. Green Building Council
Water.org

Ocean Conservancy and Bank of America Volunteers

Bank of America has supported Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) since 2002. Held each September, hundreds of thousands of volunteers from countries all over the world spend a day picking up everything from cigarette butts and food wrappers to lost fishing nets and major appliances. Because trash travels to the ocean by way of storm drains and waterways, they don’t just work along ocean beaches; participants slog through mud and sand along lakes, streams and rivers, too, often working far inland.

In 2011 we were proud to achieve true global participation in ICC with volunteers across the United States being joined by volunteers in Hong Kong, São Paulo, London, Madrid, Chennai, Mumbai and San Jose, Costa Rica. In all, 3,079 volunteer hours were dedicated to the International Coastal Cleanup in 2011, a 46% increase over 2010.